Reclaiming Life
by Sangelide
Summary: Having never truly lived, three friends are given a second chance. But their new lives aren't perfect. They must overcome new obstacles and harder challenges if they are to enjoy their second lives. Crossover with Harry Potter in the Naruto world.
1. Chapter One

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Those of you just finding this story, go immediately to Chapter 13 for the re-write of the entire story.

CHAPTER ONE

Haruno Sakura was not having a good day. Yesterday was perfect. She had graduated Ninja Academy with the highest test scores. There should be no excuse from being placed on the same team as this year's number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke-kun.

With the village heartthrob on her team, it would only be a matter of time before he noticed her love for him. She had it all planned out, knew exactly what she would wear to the wedding and who to invite. But she hadn't planned on last night.

With such an eventful day it was natural that her dreams would be busy, but she didn't know why they troubled her so. Learning magic in a majestic castle with two best friends. Together they faced down the evil in the world and came out the victor again and again. It should have been a grand adventure; a dream to tell people about and wish something like that would happen in reality.

Instead, she woke up in a cold sweat, and a feeling of urgency would not leave her alone, no matter how hard she tried to push it away. Everything she did turned out wrong. She broke a plate while washing dishes, stumbled over a non-existent rock when walking down the street and couldn't concentrate on any of the new scrolls she had borrowed.

Her thoughts kept wandering back to the dream; to Ron and Harry and why they seemed so real. It was like remembering another life. She could remember the details of all the books she had read. She remembered punching Malfoy. _'That was more satisfying than when I have to beat Naruto up for being an idiot,'_ she smiled to herself. Her last thought before waking was wondering what her fourth year would bring after getting off the Hogwarts Express.

Her first two years of school had been full of adventure and a good dose of fear. But she had stuck by the rules and kept Ron and Harry from breaking too many. In the end they had all been safe and Voldemort had been defeated once more. But the last year had been different.

All the rules that she had believed in to keep her safe and show what was right or wrong had started to turn against her. The Ministry had made a huge mistake out of the entire Sirius Black escape and it was completely unfair how they had treated the Buckbeak incident. She couldn't help but feel that breaking all the rules against using the time turner and going against the ministry by helping Sirius and Buckbeak had been well worth it. If it happened again, she would do the exact same thing.

'_There I go again. It was just a dream… Why am I so caught up in it.'_ Maybe it was because Sakura could see herself as Hermione with such little effort. The witch had grown up as a know-it-all and never had any friends. If it hadn't been for Ino, Sakura may have ended up just like her.

She never had any interest in clothes or boys before Ino. She thought if she was more like Ino, she could be happy and fit in more. She learned how to dress and what to do as a girl, even if she still wasn't as good as flower arranging as her rival. Sakura had even found a guy to pursue like all the other girls did.

Then she found out how many girls were after Sasuke-kun, Ino included. But that just showed she was on the right track. She had chosen the same boy as all the other girls. She watched what they did and learn quickly how to win Sasuke-kun's heart. She even stayed one foot ahead of Ino in the pursuit of Sasuke-kun.

When she won the heart of the dark-haired teen, she will have proven herself a girl among girls. There would be nothing between her and a happy future. She could look back on her lonely past and know she would never have to return.

But the more she thought about Hermione's life, the more she wondered if she was really happy. All that effort to get her hair just so, to dress just right, and to make sure she only read so much each week to avoid being a nerd or geek. It had been so hard to give up her favorite past time in order to be a true girl. But she thought it would be worth it, to fit in.

'_Then why is it that I don't have such good friends as Harry and Ron were. Ino doesn't count now that we're rivals… all over a stupid boy,' _she thought to herself. She wondered now why she had been so stupid yesterday. Ino and her had been fighting over Sasuke-kun for a long time but still had fun when they weren't competing. Why did she need to turn such a good friend into a rival? It would have been fine the way it was.

Sasuke was a good catch, but even if they did end up married, she would still need friends. There was no way the Uchiha prodigy would be anything but a top Jounin or an ANBU captain. Those positions required a lot of time and she would have nothing to do while he was gone unless she was a top rate ninja herself. But she had only joined the Ninja Academy because Ino did. Plus it was a good way to spend time with Sasuke.

"Those were great reasons to join," she muttered to herself sarcastically. She wondered now how long she would have continued on in the deadly career of a ninja before she gained Sasuke's love or realized it was a fruitless chase. The lower class missions would have been low risk, but if she did get on Sasuke's team, he wouldn't settle for anything but the toughest missions he could get.

She had no doubt the Uchiha heir would do well, but she realized now she was sorely lacking in practical skill. She may know more than anyone else, but Ino could beat her nine times out of ten. Sakura's one win would have been something really underhanded or pure luck. With such low skill, she wouldn't last long in the ninja field.

She remembered how she felt as Hermione when faced with that mountain troll. If it hadn't been for Ron and Harry, she wouldn't have made it. It had been after that she had spent a little less time on gaining knowledge and learning how to do things and more time on learning how to use what knowledge she did have. It was a slow process, but by the end of her third year, Sakura felt she had been doing rather well for herself. She hadn't been left behind like in second year, or been a walking library for the boys to use when confronted with danger like in her first.

'_I'm doing it again!' _Sakura shook her head and set the scroll she had been attempting to read down. With a good stretch, the pink-haired girl stood up from her desk and marched down the stairs to see if she could help her mom with dinner. The amount that this one dream was affecting her was too much. The more she thought about it the more she thought it was real, and that she really was Hermione. No more. She would eat dinner, chat with her parents and forget all about this dream… But not before she talked to Ino and apologized for doing such a stupid thing yesterday. Sasuke wasn't worth loosing Ino.

-Scene Break-

Uzumaki Naruto walked away from Konohamaru with a smirk on his face. That kid was all right. He hadn't been sure if he really wanted the little guy following him around all day but realized it was the perfect distraction. He hadn't slept well last night, but when he went to bed he hadn't expected to. Learning that you had a demon sealed in your stomach can do that to a person.

But the dreams hadn't been about the damn fox. It was actually a wonderful dream. Naruto had a family – a big family. There were five older brothers and a little sister he could watch out for. Mom was a great cook and Dad was a fun guy, a little crazy, but great fun to be around. It was just like he had always imagined.

Then why hadn't he been so happy? Naruto didn't understand what his problem had been. The Weasley's had never had much money, but they all cared a great deal about each other. But all he could think of when he was Ron was the desire for more money, or more time alone. He didn't want to have all those older brothers picking on him, and Ginny was annoying when she followed him around all the time. _'And they call me an idiot now,'_ Naruto snorted.

It had been a little better after he was at Hogwarts. Harry was a great friend, and when they saved Hermione he even had someone to help him with homework. But he couldn't help but feel jealous for all the attention that Harry received, or for the way his friend got on the Quidditch team during his first year. And what about that Nimbus 2000, or the Firebolt in third year?

But that was so unlike Naruto. The dream was seemed so real but he wasn't sure what to think about it. There was so much adventure, and it had been a wonderful feeling to have such good friends and such a big family. But if it was real, then why had he been such an asshole?

It had taken all his will power to find things to occupy his mind to keep his thought off that damn dream. First it was getting out of bed after he had woken up so early and couldn't go back to sleep. He had planned out an elaborate pose and face paint for the picture he had to take. Then he got to argue with the old man Hokage over it. The entire morning had passed with only a few flashes of thought about the dream.

When Konohamaru had found him he was wondering what he would do for the rest of the day. He was devising another prank when the kid had tried to hide behind that stupid fence-camouflage blanket. The damn brat hadn't even gotten it the right way. But he realized it would be easier to keep his mind busy if he had company.

Teaching the little brat Sexy no Jutsu was perfect revenge on old man Hokage for keeping such a thing as the Kyuubi a secret from him. Honestly, if a kid had something as big as a Nine-tailed Demon Fox in their stomach, they should be told something. And here he thought his parents must have been criminals or something for all the villagers to hate him so much.

At least when he was at Hogwarts, he was ignored instead of hated. He bet he knew how Harry felt in their second year now. _'And back to that damn dream again. How come I can't forget about it? It's already getting dark.'_ Naruto shook his head and decided to head home. There wasn't enough time to do a real good prank if he wanted to get up in time for the graduation orientation tomorrow. _'If only the stupid fuzz-ball will keep his weird dreams to himself tonight.'_

-Scene Break-

Uchiha Sasuke was brooding. It seemed to be a habit of his, but this time he was pondering a different line of thought than his usual one. He had graduated with ease, gone back to the empty Uchiha complex to train, and gone to bed with his usual efficiency. He had planned to wake up and train for the entire day off before the Genin teams were selected the day after. His dreams had decided otherwise.

Sasuke was no stranger to nightmares. His dreams had been nothing but nightmares, ever since his brother killed his clan and forced him to watch their slaughter over and over again. It was the fact that this dream had not been a nightmare that threw off his schedule.

Instead being forced to run threw the Uchiha complex and see Itachi kill one clansman after another, Sasuke was forced to learn was it was like to be hated and despised for no reason he could fathom. The Dursley's were an unpleasant bunch and he could not comprehend how such people had been created in his subconscious. He had never known such bigoted and horrible creatures such as they.

He spent most of the morning picking apart and analyzing his early childhood as Harry and debating the cause of such a change in his slumber. It did not surprise him that such detail was included. All his nightmares were such. He didn't recall his dreams being so vivid before the Uchiha Massacre, but they had always been so since.

The afternoon was more confusing as he critiqued the three years he had spent at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Such a thing was rather ridiculous when using reason and logic. Magic was a fantasy and he did not hold in such inane pastimes. But the corollaries with his true life and the disruption of his usual nightmares made Sasuke cautious enough to contemplate this dream before dismissing it.

In both lives an evil madman killed his parents. Both times he had more or less raised himself. And while he had been hated by the Dursley's, witches and wizards everywhere had sung his praises and thought of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' as a savior for something he really had not done. If he had, then there was no recollection of what he did do. In his true life he was also idolized and seen as a symbol of Konoha; again for doing nothing more than surviving.

Yet, as Harry, he had not chosen the path of an avenger. He knew his parents had been killed, and knew who had done such a thing. But while he had stood up to Voldemort and thwarted his plans, Harry never trained himself to eventually face his tormentor and kill him. Even when confronted with Wormtail in that last year, Harry had ignored the need for revenge and spared the traitor's life. _'And the rat escaped and Sirius was almost killed because of my weakness. It proves that I am on the correct path and should let nothing stand in my way of my goal,' _Sasuke concluded.

But then why had he still been so happy after Sirius escaped on Buckbeak. His godfather was still on the run and he had still needed to return to the Dursley's. But the smile on his face wasn't forced or faked. He regretted not being able to live with Sirius, and disappointed at having to return to his relatives, but he was content in the knowledge that Wormtail had not been killed.

His thoughts spun and churned until a few hours past dusk. After a long internal debate, Sasuke had to conclude that the dream was just a dream; a long and complicated one, but nothing more. It was just a fluke and he would return to his normal schedule tomorrow after adding his new Genin responsibilities in. But a nagging thought in his head said that something was different about him would not leave until he had fallen back into a deep sleep.

-Scene Break-

The damn alarm hadn't gone off and the damn dream hadn't woken him up early like yesterday. Naruto was late, and cursing up a storm under his breath as he dashed towards the Academy.

The dream was more real than the night before, and he didn't like the ending at all. He remembered being a right bastard to both his best friends in his fourth year and getting his act together in time to be there for Harry after his mate had witnessed Cedric's death and Voldemort's rebirth. The bitch Umbridge had been a nasty experience all through fifth year and he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness go through him at remembering Sirius's death. It had taken most of Sixth year to get Harry back to mostly normal.

It was also that year that the Trio had gone through extensive physical and magical training. Harry was determined to loose no more friends. The DA wasn't continued officially, but the Room of Requirement seemed to be a huge gathering place of all houses that year. There were even a few Slytherins that stopped by for a bit of training and to impart a few nasty tricks they knew.

There had been a lot of deaths when Voldemort was declared returned by the Ministry and none of the three had really concentrated on homework. By the middle of Seventh year they could out duel Dumbledore and Snape together when working as a team, and tie when it was against Dumbledore, Snape and Flitwick. It was a good thing.

Voldemort attacked Hogsmead two weeks before NEWTS. All students had been forbidden to go to the wizard village since the beginning of their sixth year, but there had been nothing that would have stopped the Trio at a chance to end the war. They had by passed all of Dumbledore's precautions that had been set up to keep them in the castle, and had made their way to Hogsmead.

They didn't give a damn about the Order members yelling at them about how dangerous it was and went through the Death Eaters with ease. Naruto remembered dueling Lucius Malfoy and the cutting curse that severed the man's head. He remembered Hermione getting Bellatrix for Sirius with a nasty blasting curse. The battle had been a blur of movements and flashes of magic.

Harry had faced Voldemort while his two friends kept the Death Eaters off his back. When he could, Naruto had sent more curses towards the Dark Lord to give Harry some breathing room. The Prophecy had said that it was Harry's hand that had to kill him, but that wouldn't stop Ron and Hermione from hexing Voldemort to near death.

And it worked. Voldemort was defeated, and Hermione sealed his soul into the nearest object at hand to prevent him from being reborn again. The three had sat down together and smiled, enjoying the feel of having the whole thing done with. The battle was won and the Order Members and Aurors on sight were celebrating with the few remaining townsfolk that were unable to escape.

They had never seen it coming. Wormtail. The rat they had all forgotten had killed Hermione before Ron knew it was happening. When a second killing curse had fired towards him, Harry had pushed him out of the way. The Boy-Who-Lived didn't live a second time. Naruto could still feel the numb shock and horror as he stared at his two dead friends. When the last killing curse hit him, Ron hadn't even cared. His last thought was his wish to be back with his friends.

"Damn dream," Naruto cursed in a dull voice. He felt tears forming in his eyes and quickly rubbed them away as he continued on towards the Academy. Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't a dream. Nothing that felt like that could be a simple dream. _'And I didn't get my wish. I died and I'm still not with Harry and 'Mione.'_

-Scene Break-

Sasuke had risen on time today, but that was all that had gone as planned. His nightmares hadn't returned. Instead, the puzzling dream had continued as if there had been no pause. He remembered the TriWizard Tournament and Voldemort's rebirth. He remembered suffering through Umbridge and his betrayal by Dumbledore. He remembered the guilt of failing Cedric, Sirius and all of his classmates as they continued to get notices of dead parents and relatives.

Harry had become an avenger. But unlike Sasuke, he had Ron and Hermione to back him up. Even with all the training he didn't know if he could have killed Voldemort without their help. At the very least, he would have had to wait several more years before he was confidant enough to face the Dark Lord. Even then he knew he would never have been able to perform that Soul Binding charm as 'Mione had.

'_Mione.'_ The pain of loss when Wormtail killed her seemed to hurt more than remembering his clan's massacre. At least he had saved Ron. The redhead would have cursed his existence, and if they ever saw each other again Sasuke was sure the famous Weasley temper would be in full steam. But it was worth it. He hoped his mate killed his old pet Scabbers in memory of his two fallen friends. The last thought he recalled was he desire to see Hermione again and wondering when Ron would follow.

It didn't make sense, but Sasuke couldn't deny the feeling that this dream was real – that it had all happened before. After all, he had been able to summon a kunai from halfway across the room. Yet, despite the raw wound it had opened, the dream memories didn't give him anything but that – memories of another life. Sasuke sat at his desk and stared at the chalkboard remembering his other life as an avenger and wishing he had his friends to help him in this life as well.

The trio wouldn't have fallen for the same mistake twice. They wouldn't have left a Wormtail alive to kill them just as they accomplished they're goals. _'But they're not here,'_ Sasuke thought, and mourned inside while keeping his stoic façade up to shield him from the harsh realities of his current life.

-Scene Break-

Sakura walked quietly next to Ino. She had spent a good hour last night apologizing and listening to Ino rant and rave over how stupid Sakura was and how Sasuke-kun was now Ino's if forehead-girl was going to be giving up that easy. Sakura just smiled and nodded her head and when Ino paused to take a breath before launching into another round, she said something quietly that left Ino speechless for a moment. "I'm glad we can be friends again."

Ino had looked confused for a moment before smiling the same smile she first gave Sakura. "We've always been friends." They hugged and then quickly went into discussion on what they were wearing the next day before Sakura left for home and bed.

She had gone to sleep thinking that all was right in the world and that tomorrow would be a new start to her life as a ninja. She was going to do this right, and Ino wouldn't know what hit her if they ever had to spar in the future.

And then the dream came. It was terrible. Ron had been horrible in forth year until she had beat some sense into his skull and he had seen what Harry had faced in the first task. They helped him as much as they could, but when it came down to it, Harry had to face Voldemort all alone that year. Cedric's death had been terrible, but knowing that Voldemort was back was worse. And Harry blamed it all on himself.

It didn't help that the Ministry was anal and recessive and sent that woman Umbridge to teach everyone nonsense and enforce rules that were barbaric. Any respect that Hermione had felt for the Ministry had been killed that year. And Sirius's death synched it.

Sakura felt terrible for Harry, and when he told Ron and her the prophecy at the beginning of Sixth year, all respect for Dumbledore died. She was the one that convinced Professor McGonagall to help her deal with the headmaster. She gained Harry more freedom at Hogwarts; Dumbledore cooperated in training the way the Trio wanted it, they were given latitude on missing certain classes or turning in certain assignments, and were given a carte-blanc for the Restricted Section.

With her studying, Ron's strategy and Harry's drive, the three of them learned how to duel in a little less than eighteen months. An amazing feat according to most books she had read. Dueling took years of practice to learn properly and decades to perfect. Only Harry could truly fight Dumbledore one on one when the headmaster was going all out, but Ron and Hermione weren't far behind. And when the three of them dueled together, there wasn't anything they couldn't do.

And they won. Sakura could feel the happy elation when the Final Battle finished. With her two best friends at her side she couldn't have been more content and wished it could be like that forever.

And then she saw a rat transforming into a short fat man out of the corner of her eye. The thought of _'Wormtail!'_ had barely passed her mind, before her vision had been flooded with green. She remembered wishing she could see Ron and Harry one last time before she woke up with tears soaking her pillow and a terrible feeling of loss in her chest.

When Ino met her outside her door she had waved off all questions of what was wrong and how could she help. Sakura knew that Ino could never believe the real explanation, but she was too drained to come up with anything else.

All of a sudden she felt a burning anger at having to go to Ninja Orientation. She wanted to know what had happened to Ron and Harry. Could Harry get over the death of another person he cherished? Did they get Wormtail? Did Wormtail get them?

The last question gave her a lump in her throat and it was difficult to breath. It took most of her control to keep from crying. She couldn't help but think that they might have died too. Wormtail took her by surprise and while he wasn't the best dueler there was, he could have fired a second shot before anyone reacted. If Ron had died, Harry wouldn't have had the will to go on after Wormtail was taken down. If Harry was quickly taken care of, Ron might not have reacted fast enough.

She could see all the possibilities in her head and all she wanted to do was go back home and cry for her friends. Even if both had lived, the chances that they were here, in this life must be a million to one.

She had never believed in reincarnation as Hermione, but that was the only logical explanation she had now. Ninja's didn't believe in an afterlife and there wasn't any true religion in the world that she lived in now. She wondered how far in the future she must be if she couldn't even correlate the geography from Hermione's memory to the current time.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. Ino was looking at her with a very concerned expression on her face. "We're here." It was Ino's quiet voice. Sakura could always tell how worried the blonde was by the tone of voice Ino used.

She tried to give a reassuring smile but it didn't hold up very long. Ino seemed to get more worried before she put on a haughty mask and gestured to the far side of the room. "Just because I'm really nice and I know that Sasuke-kun will be on MY team, I'm going to let you sit by him during orientation. But don't get any ideas forehead-girl. He's mine and I'll be right behind you to make sure you're not doing anything funny."

She stomped over to a seat between Shikamaru and Chouji and Sakura watched her with a genuine smile on her face. In Ino-speak that meant that Ino was letting Sakura alone for now, but if she needed anything she was right behind her. Even if she didn't get to see Ron and Harry again, at least she still had one friend she could call on. _'But it's not the same,' _she thought wistfully as the smile disappeared once more.

She paid enough attention to know that she was, in fact, placed on the same team as Sasuke, and her third team member was Naruto. When lunch came, she waved Ino off and took out her bento and ate at the desk. None of the jealous fan girls berated her for being on the Uchiha's team. They were more concerned with following the dark-haired boy out the classroom to get the chance for some 'alone time' with the village heartthrob. Sakura wondered why she had ever thought it was a smart thing to act like them.

She noticed Naruto was staying behind in the classroom as well, but didn't mind, as he was being rather quiet. There was a brief thought of concern towards the blonde before she turned her mind inward once more. She needed to be composed when the Jounin instructor arrived and make a good first impression if she was to start a ninja career correctly. But when the instructors picked up their teams, and Team Seven was left without an instructor she began to worry.

When Iruka stacked up his papers and let them know that they should stay in the classroom until the instructor arrived, she began to get upset. The instructor should know better than to arrive late. Iruka had stayed with them for an hour after the other teams had gone before leaving! How much longer would they have to wait?

The wait became even harder when Naruto seemed to snap back into his usual self an hour after that. He started chuckling to himself and humming a nameless tunes under his breath while planting a chalkboard eraser in the door. Usually she would have lectured the idiot, but she was too drained to put the effort into a good scolding. Instead she started complaining to herself about dumb blonds and their neon orange obsession. "Thank Merlin the Chudley Cannons aren't around."

-Scene Break-

It had been a long lunch for Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha. He had dashed into the room just before Iruka and took the last seat next to Sakura. He didn't even acknowledge his usual crush as he flopped down in his seat and tried to catch his breath.

Only half his attention was on the lecture Iruka was giving while he tried to calm his thoughts as well as his lungs. He didn't even react to Sakura or the asshole Sasuke being placed on his team, nor did he notice that Sakura didn't even smile when she was placed with Konoha's number one bachelor.

He didn't bother to leave the room when lunch was dismissed, but stayed where he was and pulled out his thermos of ramen. For the first time in a very long time, Naruto ate his single serving of ramen slowly, barely finishing before the class gathered again.

Thoughts were zipping back and forth in his head as the teams were dismissed with their Jounin instructors. He had just started to make a dent in his chaotic thoughts when Iruka let them know he was leaving, but to continue waiting for their own Jounin. The brown-haired teacher sent Naruto a worried look, but the boy just grinned and waved the concerned Chuunin off.

It wasn't long after that when Naruto decided that enough was enough. He had plenty of bad things happen to him in this life to know that stuff happens and you can deal with it or let it drag you down. And when life got too tough, what did he do to loosen things up? Play a prank. The ultra-late Jounin instructor was just asking for one.

Naruto chuckled as he thought of what kind of reactions he might get as he walked up to the front of the room. He picked the eraser with the most chalk and used a nearby chair to place it in the top of the door. Jounins were supposed to have top-notch reflexes, but there was always the chance you could catch one off guard. Besides, if the instructor was this late, he might not be a very good Jounin anyways.

As he made his way back to his seat he grinned when he noticed Sakura glaring at the desk and grumbling about idiot blondes and their neon orange obsessions. He was glad she wasn't yelling or hitting him, and who knew she had such a vocabulary. Naruto was enjoying listing to Sakura's rant when her last phrase could not be ignored. "Thank Merlin the Chudley Cannon's aren't around."

"Hey! The Chudley's would have made a great come back if they hadn't canceled all the bloody games on account of Voldemort!" It had been an automatic defense of his favorite Quidditch team, but when he realized what he said, his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. If he hadn't been in such shock himself, he would have laughed at Sakura's bug-eyed expression.

-Scene Break-

Lunch was spent dodging fan girls and finding a quiet place to stay until he could sneak back into the Academy. He didn't think it was fair he had to go through so much trouble to have a simple meal. All he wanted right now was to be left alone until orientation was over and he could continue training. Memories of life as Harry were plaguing him and he wanted to get his mind off it as soon as possible.

But fate seemed to be against him once more. He wondered which god or gods he had pissed off and when. There wasn't anything in his memory, as Sasuke or Harry that could warrant such blatant disfavor that seemed to smoother both his lives. He could feel his right eyebrow twitching in annoyance as the second hour of waiting for their Jounin instructor began.

He was grateful for Ron and Ginny at that moment. By using the wide variety of words and phrases he had learned from them, he tried to figure out how many ways he could curse his instructor-to-be. It was the only thing allowing him to keep a semi-composed face. When Naruto began chuckling and propped the eraser up in the door he sighed mentally. _'As if that would work.'_

When Sakura started muttering under her breath about idiot blonds and their obsession with neon orange he couldn't help but agree. Naruto's jumpsuit reminded him of Ron's room at the Burrow. The first stealth mission they had the blonde would stand out like a sore thumb. He only hoped the idiot would listen to reason when the time came. If he didn't, Sasuke didn't know if he would be able to restrain himself from killing the dunce.

He only half paid attention to the end of Sakura's rant, "Thank Merlin the Chudley Cannons aren't around." The significance of the statement hadn't even set in when Naruto's yell caught his full and undivided attention.

"Hey! The Chudley's would have made a great come back if they hadn't canceled all the bloody games on account of Voldemort!" His head snapped around to look at his two teammates. Naruto seemed to freeze before doing an imitation of a fish while Sakura's eyes were trying to pop out of their head.

"R-Ron!?" If the earlier two comments hadn't surprised him, Sakura's statement had.

"Hermione?" He questioned as calm as he could. He dimly wondered if he was still dreaming. Sakura and Naruto turned to him, and any color they had left washed out of their faces. The three of them stared at one another until Naruto was brave enough to break the silence.

"Harry? Mate?" Sasuke nodded at him, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He wondered if this could be true. For the first time in a very long time, hope started to glimmer in the distance. "Yahoo! I thought I was going crazy with all those bloody dreams and then I thought you guys were gone for good and, damn! I didn't think I was going to see you guys ever again and-"

"Ron! It's okay. We're here now. I'm not sure how, but I'm sure with a bit of research…" Sasuke did smile at that. There couldn't be anyone besides Hermione that could cut off one of Ron's rants so efficiently, and getting lost in thought mid-sentence was just like her, especially when concerning research.

"Who cares how? We're here and you two aren't dead anymore and best of all we're on the same damn team! And no more Voldemort chasing Harry to get in the way of have a normal life for once." Ron's grin was stretched from ear to ear. But his words caused Sasuke's happiness to dim a bit.

"Sorry Ron. Fate doesn't seem to like me too much." That comment caught both his friend's attention and two questioning looks. He sighed before giving a brief explanation. "Instead of a psychotic madman that killed my parents as a baby, I got a psychotic older brother that killed not only my parents, but my entire clan when I was eight. He left me alive and told me to hate him if I wanted to kill him and avenge their deaths. He's currently a missing-nin, S-class."

The two stared at him in dawning horror. Another small silence occurred as the two absorbed the information and Sasuke waited to see what their reaction was. Predictably, it was Ron that broke it. "Shit. That's rough. Why can't you get a break? I thought that I might have taken you place this time around…"

"How so?" Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he had been interested in a conversation that didn't involve training. It was a nice change, but he didn't like the direction Ron seemed to be going.

"Well, I don't have a family this time to share with you. Hell, I don't even know who my parents were. I lived in an orphanage 'til I was four and then I didn't want to take their shit anymore and ran away. The Hokage got me an apartment and that's where I live now and he checks up on me every now and again. None of the villagers like me and I never knew why 'til two days ago."

Naruto looked at his teammates and Hermione nodded for him to go on. "You guys remember the story of the Kyuubi and the Fourth Hokage, right?" After we both nodded he continued. "Well, turns out the Fourth didn't actually kill the fox. He couldn't. Instead he sealed him in a newborn baby so the demon couldn't break loose. When the baby dies, the fox will die with him. Lucky me, huh? The adults all know but there's a law that no one can talk about it so the kids only know that I'm bad news and they need to stay away."

'_Bloody hell,'_ was the first thought to go through Sasuke's mind. _'Well, I guess we both get some messed up lives. What did we do to deserve this?_' "I guess fate decided to screw you over too. Are you okay Hermione?"

She seemed to shake out of her thoughts by his question. "I'm fine. I have both my parents and it's a lot like Hogwarts actually. I get to see them and they support me in my decisions but I don't really talk with them much. But this time I'm not completely friendless before meeting up with you guys, and she's kept me from being a bookworm again. You guys know Ino."

He couldn't help it. Sasuke groaned. "Yes. I do."

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione looked at him in horror before she started to laugh. "You would, wouldn't you? Oh!" She started to laugh even more, gasping out her words. "I can't believe—I was a fan girl! Chasing after Harry – Of all people!" Sasuke smirked when he realized the irony of the situation. Hermione had been adamant about her opinion of all the girls who wanted to date the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'

Ron started laughing as well and the Uchiha couldn't help but snort in amusement when the blonde started to quote some of the stupid things Sakura had done while chasing the dark-haired teen. It wasn't until Sakura rounded on Naruto about all the dumb things he had done while crushing on her that he couldn't restrain the chuckle that bubbled up.

They had just gotten back under control when the door began to open and the Jounin Instructor stuck his head in the classroom… Just in time to have a chalk-full eraser land on his head. The three friends looked at each other and burst out laughing all over again. Sasuke couldn't remember when he had laughed so freely in his current life. Uchihas were not known for their cheerful dispositions.

Hatake Kakashi took one look at his team and summed it all up in one sentence. "Well, I have to say, from first impressions – I hate you guys." It just made the trio laugh harder.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all of those reviewers that caught the scene gap and actually bothered to tell me about it. Apologies to you guys. I've been out of the loop and didn't get the messages until now.


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

When their laughter died out once more, their instructor told them to meet on the roof. Hermione had told them to remember they had new names now and they needed to use them. Sasuke spent the walk up listening to Sakura and Naruto argue over how much it would matter if they slipped up once in a while. After all, who had ever heard of Harry Potter and his friends here?

But Sakura won the argument in the end by pointing out that even if they didn't know exactly who they were, how would the adults react to three Genins calling each other different names along with acting a little different than normal? They could be mistaken for infiltrating Ninjas with disguises and even if they could prove they were the real Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, it wouldn't be until after a lot of trouble had passed.

Sasuke had been disappointed by not sensing the Jounin instructor, but listening to Sakura and Naruto made up for it. He didn't have to be the stoic Uchiha heir around them. It seemed to be the first time in a long while that he couldn't hear his brother's voice taunting him to become stronger.

When they reached the roof, Sakura and Naruto had evolved the argument by what sort of interrogation methods ninjas currently used and how ethical they would be. _'Honestly, they haven't changed a bit,'_ Sasuke commented to himself. He noticed the instructor leaning against the side railing and turned his teammate's attention to the late Jounin.

The man seemed to be studying them under a passive face and Sasuke wondered what the Jounin was thinking. The man motioned for them to sit down facing him and the trio did so, Sakura and Naruto on either side of Sasuke. It almost made him give a rueful shake of his head before his caught himself. Even in their new life, the two were taking up the roles as Harry's bodyguards by habit.

"Let's introduce ourselves. State your likes, dislikes, dreams and hobbies." His voice sounded lazy and bored, and he looked down at them with a single half-lidded eye. Sasuke had the brief thought that this could be Mad-Eye Moody's double and wondered if they would soon hear 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' being yelled at random moments of the day.

"Hey! Hey! What about you? Why aren't you going first?" Naruto yelled at their instructor, breaking Sasuke out of his musing.

"Alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like a few things, and I dislike some things. Dreams… Well, I have a few hobbies." The three waited to see if he would add anything else.

"That's it!?" Naruto yelled.

"Well, we did learn his name," Sakura commented in her matter-of-fact voice. Before Naruto could give a comeback for that, their new teacher continued.

"How about the loud one goes next."

"Right! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, especially the ramen Iruka buys for me and… my new friends!" Naruto smirked at his two teammates and they grinned back at the joke implied. "I don't like classwork and I hate the evil psychos in the world. My dream is to become the best Hokage of the village! Hobbies… pranks I guess." Sasuke restrained a snort at that. _'I guess without the twins around, Ron had to take up their favorite pastime… They would have been proud.'_

"Okay… You're next pinky."

Sakura scowled at the Jounin instructor and folded her arms across her chest before starting. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like reading and being with my friends. I DON'T like bigoted pigs and prejudice people." She gave Kakashi a dark look. "My hobbies are reading and studying and my dream is…"

She put one finger on her chin and tapped it a few times before continuing. "I'd have to think on that one for a while, but I do know my current goal is to be able to help my friends in their time of need." Sasuke covered his smile by coving his mouth his hands in a casual manner. He was glad she had the opportunity to do as she wished this time. There was no war to force her path.

"How about you?"

Sasuke turned to the instructor. He still looked as lazy as ever, but there was something in his gaze that reminded Sasuke of sitting in Dumbledore's office. The old headmaster always acted like a cheerful grandfather with a twinkle in his eye. But Sasuke had noticed after Sirius was gone that there always seemed to be a glint of subtle observation beneath the gentle façade. The headmaster was a master of hinting at things and dodging questions.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like a few things, and dislike idiots. My hobby is to train and my dream is none of your concern." He had all the practice he needed during this life to know exactly how to show no emotions and how to turn his voice cold and unfeeling. The ability to occlude his mind added to this effect by allowing his eyes to show no hint of what he was thinking.

He noticed his teammates looking at him in concern out of the corner of his eyes, but he did not break his gaze from Kakashi's. If the man was anything like Dumbledore, he was going to let him know straight up he wasn't going to fall for his manipulations. Sasuke would worry about reassuring Sakura and Naruto later.

It was the Jounin teacher that broke the stalemate. "I see… Well, tomorrow you'll begin you duties as Konoha Genin."

"Yes! Duties! What are we going to do?" Naruto's energetic voice turned Kakashi's attention to the blonde.

"Your first mission will be something that only involves the four of us."

"What would that be sensei?" Sakura asked politely.

"Survival Training."

"Survival Training?!" Naruto echoed loudly.

"But we already covered that in the Academy," Sakura protested. It didn't help that Kakashi started chuckling with a slight edge of madness. The three waited.

"You guys are just going to flip when you hear this." Naruto wisely decided to stay quiet when Sakura and Sasuke didn't ask for clarification. It seemed to break the mirth from their instructor and he looked at each of his students in turn before continuing.

"You see, this survival training will be a test." He paused to see if either of the three would react. "A test that only nine of the twenty-seven Genin will pass. The other 66 will return to the Academy."

"WHAT!" Naruto's yell echoed Sasuke's thoughts and his eyes narrowed when the Jounin began chuckling again. "But what the hell did the Genin exams mean!?"

"Those exams were only a test to see if you had the skills to become Genin. This test given by the Jounin instructors will see if you have the capability to do so." Kakashi took one more look at each of them, and Sasuke made sure to give his best Snape-glare when it was his turn. He was happy to see Kakashi turn away quickly after meeting his gaze. Then their instructor continued.

"The information you need is in these pamphlets. We'll meet again tomorrow morning." He started to walk away after handing each student a folder paper. "Oh, by the way. Don't eat breakfast in the morning. You won't keep it down." And then he was gone in another poof of smoke.

"The nerve of that- that- asshole! I bloody well aught to-"

"Naruto! Just because he told us something we didn't know doesn't mean you should take it out on him."

"But that bastard was enjoying it! He didn't need to rub it into our faces the way he did."

"Yes, well… He's gone now and it doesn't help to rant and rave about it. The best thing we can do is prepare for tomorrow. I'm not sure what the test will consist of, but we've done the regular survival training so there must be a twist we're not seeing…" Sakura trailed off and Sasuke took the opportunity to interrupt before the two friends started another argument.

"Careful. We don't know if he's really gone. Many Jounin are highly skilled in stealth. They must be in order to carry out the assassinations they are assigned. We know nothing of Hatake Kakashi save he's a Jounin and he arrived late. He may be monitoring our conversation to gain more information about each of us and how we interact. He's beyond my senses at least, so he shouldn't be able to hear us unless he planted a listening bug or has a bloodline that allows for superior hearing."

"Right. Then we need to change to a different location and find out more about him. Her-I mean Sakura?" Ron's tactical skills didn't seem to fade away in this new life. Maybe that was why Naruto seemed to be able to plan so many pranks on the ninja's of Konoha. Sasuke had never thought about it before, but it would take a higher level of pranking to even trick the Chuunin as often as Naruto had. The twins would be very proud indeed.

"There's a registry in the public library with a basic listing of registered ninja. It won't give specifics, but should let us know what skills he has that rival villages already know about."

"I'm not welcome in the library so you two will have to go without me. In the mean time I can go visit old man Hokage. He's been good to me and might give me some information, and I might be able to find something on this test."

"You'll have to go alone Sakura. I've avoided the library at all cost. I think my fan girls have a base there or something. Anytime I go I'm mobbed within five minutes. I can see if my clan had any record on him. Where should we meet up?"

Sakura grimaced at the reminder of Naruto's plight and Sasuke's fan girls. "I don't know how my parents will react to you Naruto, so my house it out. Any public locations we meet up at could be monitored or easily overheard."

"My place is open, but it's not in the best condition. I guess not too many landlords want me living in their complex." Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled weakly.

Sasuke looked at Naruto sharply. That tone of voice was very familiar. He remembered waving off his friends concerns about the Dursleys many times. He didn't like the implications he was getting.

"Then we'll use my place. Sakura, do you know where the Uchiha complex is?" She nodded her head. Sasuke wasn't surprised. All fan girls would know that, but there were high consequences for unwelcome visitors. The Uchihas may not be around to enforce that, but the Hokage had made sure the laws were kept. Sasuke would have one place he could go to without looking over his back for screaming fans or good-natured Samaritans.

"Then we'll meet you at the entrance of the complex and look up the Uchiha records together. Naruto, I'm going with you to your apartment before we visit the Hokage." When Naruto started to protest he just glared at him until the words died on the blonde's lips. Ron had done everything possible for Sasuke when he lived at the Dursleys. There was no way he wouldn't return the favor if needed.

-Scene Break-

Naruto was nervous. He wasn't quite sure why. This was Harry he was taking to see his place; the same boy who grew up in the cupboard under the stairs. If there was anyone that would understand his living conditions, it was Harry. Besides, an entire apartment, no matter how shabby, was a lot better than even the small bedroom the Dursleys had given Harry.

But the closer they came to his place, the more butterflies started flying around in his stomach. It didn't help that Harry, now Sasuke, didn't say a word to help relieve the tension. It was just like the beginning of Sixth year. Naruto hoped it wouldn't take another year to break Sasuke out of his shell again.

'_And what was up with that look he gave Kakashi?'_ Naruto felt a shiver go up his spine remembering the cold tone Sasuke had used. The Uchiha and instructor had just watched each other for the longest time. Naruto didn't know what Sasuke was thinking. It sure wasn't the best start to a student-teacher relationship. But then, Harry had never been very good at student-teacher relationships. _'As long as it's not another Snape, the slimy git.'_

They reached his apartment door, and with one last glance at his friend, Naruto dug into his pocket for his wallet. "A frog?" Sasuke's odd tone made Naruto take a second look at his wallet before chuckling sheepishly.

"I guess. It was something old man Hokage gave me for a birthday a year or so back. Didn't have anything else I could use. I've even got a name for it. Sasuke, meet Gama-chan! Gama-chan, meet Sasuke!" Naruto laughed at Sasuke's expression as he introduced his wallet to his best friend. If there was one thing this life had taught him it was that laughter was the best way to deal with hard times. If you could still laugh, you weren't lost.

"Whatever Naruto. Are we going to go in or not?" Naruto realized he had been standing there, staring at his wallet for a bit too long. He chuckled sheepishly again and fished out his key from inside Gama-chan. Taking a deep breath, he turned the key and opened the door.

"Welcome to my humble home. It's not the Burrow, but hey, what is?" He watched Sasuke take in the worn walls and carpet, the threadbare couch, rickety folding table and chairs and the pile of used ramen cups that were overflowing in the garbage can. The door to his bedroom was still open and you could see the room was large enough for the short bed and side table and nothing else. The bathroom was a small room with a shower and toilet, nothing more.

"Hn. It's better than I thought it might be. Do you like living here?" That question caught Naruto off guard.

"Well, I guess it's okay. The furniture works and I don't spend a lot of time indoors anyway. The bills are cheep and the hot water doesn't go out too often..." He shrugged his shoulders and wondered where Sasuke was going with this.

There was a long pause as Sasuke wandered around the room and poked his head into the bed and bathroom. He looked through the kitchen cupboards and raised an eyebrow at all the cup ramen that were stacked there. Naruto shrugged and watched his friend finish his inspection. Sasuke walked back to Naruto and the two friends just looked at each other for a long time. Then Sasuke turned to look out the window and spoke in a quiet voice.

"The Uchiha estates used to house the entire clan. There's an entire street of homes, shops and training halls. When they were all alive it was a fairly quiet place, but you could always see someone out and about. Anyone without Uchiha blood cannot enter the estates without permission from a clansman. The Hokage makes sure that is still enforced so I don't have rabid fans camping out on my doorstep. But it's lonely there. I wanted to make sure your place wasn't like the Dursleys, but I don't want to force you away from you home. I'd still like the company though."

It took a moment for the meaning of Sasuke's words to make sense. Naruto knew that Sasuke was trying not to offer pity or charity. Ron had never someone who appreciated those. A grin started in on his face. "You realize that I want my own room. No offense mate, but I think I've shared with you too many times and you sound like you have the space. And keep in mind that I still can't cook worth shit."

Sasuke turned back to look at him with a matching grin. "I wouldn't have it any other way mate. I'd rather not listen to you snore; it could wake the dead."

"Hey!" The two friends argued back and forth while Naruto packed his things in a back and Sasuke found a box to put the ramen in. The stuff in Naruto's small refrigerator was too old to save and caused another argument between the two boys as Sasuke threw it out. That was all that Naruto really owned, but he didn't really mind at the moment. He had his friends back, a place to live that wouldn't be so lonely, and a career as a ninja to look forward to. There was no way the trio wouldn't pass tomorrow's test.

-Scene Break-

"Sakura!" It was Ino. Sakura had forgotten for a moment that Ino was a Sasuke fan girl as well. Of course her team meeting would have been over hours ago if had gone as quickly as Team Seven's.

She hid a groan as she thought about what she was going to tell her friend; certainly not the truth. And with the way she was acting this morning an explanation would be necessary. She put a smile on her face as she turned towards her blonde friend. "Ino!"

"Are you alright now Sakura? I stopped by your house, but your mom said you hadn't come home yet." Ino was trying had not to show her worry, Sakura could tell. It made the semi-forced smile on her face into a genuine one.

"Don't worry Ino. I had a really disturbing dream and I could get it out of my mind. I was doing better after lunch, but our stupid instructor didn't show up until two hours after all the other teams had been picked up!" She huffed at remembering how long Kakashi had made them wait. _'And then that pinky comment… Oh, that Jounin is asking for it.'_

"Two hours! Who did you get?"

"Some guy named Hatake Kakashi. I was coming to the library to see what I could find out about him. He wasn't very helpful."

"Ah, I think you might want to change your mind on that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When did you start to be an idiot forehead-girl? I'm not worried about you stealing my Sasuke-kun. You wouldn't be able to. But the others think you must have done something to rig the teams up so you could have him all to yourself. And now you want to go downtown to the library? Did that dream mess you up that much?"

Ino was glaring at her but Sakura's mind was racing on what else she could do. They needed that information and there was no guarantee the Hokage would tell them anything or that the Uchiha records would have any information. They were also a few years out of date. The only information they could be sure to get was in the library. There had to be at least something in there.

"I need that info Ino. You have that test tomorrow too, right?" At Ino's nod Sakura continued. "Well, we talked about it as a team and we think there's something fishy. Kakashi said it was survival training, but we all passed that in the Academy so there has to be a twist involved if there's a 66 failure rate. We thought if we knew something about the instructor we could have a better chance." She was careful to keep Sasuke's name out of her explanation to keep Ino concentrated on the real problem.

"Hmm… Asuma told us we had to pass an obstacle course, so maybe the tests are different." She gave Sakura a piercing look before turning around and marching down the street. "Well don't just stand there forehead-girl, we can ask my dad since you seem to have forgotten he's a Jounin too."

Sakura smiled as she followed Ino down the street. "Hey! Don't call me forehead-girl or I'm going to start calling you Ino-pig again!"

"Like I care about that… Forehead-girl!" The two bickered good-naturedly all the way to the flower shop. Ino's dad wasn't home yet, but dinner was going to start soon and he would be arriving in time to eat. When Mrs. Yamanaka asked if Sakura wanted to join them she had to refuse.

"I'd love to Mrs. Yamanaka, but I can't. I'm supposed to meet up with my teammates once I get the information on Hatake Kakashi. They're going to be upset by how long I've taken as it is, but I guess I can't help it." She gave a rueful shrug and hoped Ino wouldn't make the connection that she was meeting with Sasuke when she was going to meet her teammates. That hope didn't last too long.

"What! You're going to meet with Sasuke-kun and you didn't even tell me! And after all the help I'm giving you. I'm going with you forehead-girl and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Sakura sighed before starting in on the long process of convincing Ino to change her mind. When she noticed Ino's dad enter the kitchen she hit upon a brilliant idea. "Ino… I'm not going after Sasuke anymore. I don't like him like that." She held back a smile at Ino's dumbstruck look. "When I broke up our friendship to create a rivalry, that was when it hit me. I'm not sure why I liked him in the first place, but he wasn't worth it to loose you.

"And then when we had to wait for Kakashi, I learned that Sasuke actually hates all fan girls. He wasn't too happy with the thought of having to deal with one while trying to accomplish missions and training. He's tired of dealing with them when he's just trying to shop for groceries. Did you know that he can't even go to the library because he gets mobbed within five minutes of arriving?

"It's a stupid thing really. If someone wanted to win Sasuke's heart it sure wouldn't be by acting as possessive and bubble-headed as we've been for the last few years." Ino was still struck speechless as Sakura left her friends side and asked Ino's dad if she could as him a few questions. He seemed to be amused at the situation and didn't mind in the least.

She left the Yamanaka home with a few answers and without Ino. Her blonde friend was still in the kitchen and hadn't spoken a word since Sakura's confession.

-Scene Break-

"What took so long?" Sasuke was straight and to the point when Sakura finally showed up at the Uchiha Estate gates. He knew it sounded a little cold, but hoped his friends wouldn't take offense to it. He was speaking more today than he did in the average week. He doubted he would be able to act as carefree as he had been in their previous life for a long time.

"Sorry Sasuke. Ino caught me before I reached the library. Turns out to be a good thing. You're fan girls are hunting me as well as you. Seems like they got the idea I rigged the teams. Instead of risking it, I went to Ino's and waited for her dad to come home. He gave me a bit of information. It's probably a bit more than what the library would have given us."

He nodded and waved her in. There wasn't a standard guard posted anymore, but the occasional ANBU did a once over on the Uchiha estates a few times a day to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. If one was passing by then they could have mistaken Sakura for a fan girl who followed him home if he didn't indicate she was welcome. It had happened before.

"Naruto's gone to the Hokage. We stopped by his place and moved him here. It wasn't a bad apartment, but his situation reminded me too much of the Dursleys. Besides, I don't like living alone either." Sakura didn't say anything, but nodded in understanding. Thinking of Ron as the hated orphan was going to take a bit of time, he was sure. The entire situation still seemed surreal to him. It seemed odd to think of himself as Harry in one sentence and Sasuke in the next; the same with his friends.

He could see the similarities between Hermione and Sakura: love or knowledge, know-it-all brains, and a fierce temper when dealing with idiots. But there were differences as well. Sakura was a girl that helped lead his fan girls. He hoped that would stop now. But Hermione was never really interested in guys. Even with the Victor Krum scenario, it was the boy asking her, not the other way around.

And while Sasuke didn't know much about fashion in either life, he was sure Sakura was on the leading edge of it. And she was using a bit of make-up as well, he was sure. Hermione always kept her appearance clean and tidy unless a major cram session was in order, but she never took time to be… well, be girly about it.

And looking at the long straight-haired girl with pale jade eyes was rather odd when thinking about the bushy-haired teen she used to be. With Ron and Naruto, the difference between bright red and bright blonde wasn't too far of a stretch. But pink and brown?

"Do you dye your hair?" The question slipped out before he could catch it. Sakura looked at him in surprise before laughing. It took a moment to recover before she could answer. Sasuke just glared at her.

"No, no. I do highlight my hair. My mother's is a lighter shade, more of a strawberry blonde than the cotton candy pink I have. I believe that's the difference. I'll probably need to do something about it though. Pink is rather obvious isn't it. Not as bad as Naruto's jumpsuit though…"

She trailed off as they both thought of Naruto's color choice. That would be a fun conversation. When they reached his house he invited her in. "We've got a lot to talk about. Did you have dinner before you came?" She shook her head. "That's fine. Naruto and I haven't either so we'll discuss Kakashi over dinner. There are some vegetables in the fridge. If you cut them I'll start the stir fry."

They worked silently and were almost finished when Naruto returned. "Hey guys! Old man Hokage didn't give me much. Just a bunch of stupid metaphors."

"Sounds like Dumbledore - Never helpful when you need information. Set the table and we'll hear what Sakura has to say. " Naruto nodded and with a few directions from Sasuke, found the correct cupboard and drawers and in short order the three friends were sitting at the table.

"First off, I think it's interesting to note that Ino's team is doing an obstacle course, not a survival test. Since teams aren't trained in specific areas until Chuunin rank, it confirms my suspicion that there's an alternate meaning to the test." She made sure the boys were listening before continuing.

"When I talked to Inoshi about Kakashi he had an interesting reaction. He was smiling at something I had done to Ino, but when I mentioned my teacher was Hatake Kakashi he stopped. He looked really serious when I explained what I wanted to know and only smiled again when I mention how late he had been.

"He told me that Kakashi was never on time save emergencies. On a regular day the best you could hope for was fifteen minutes late. I take it a few hours time is normal for him. That's probably why Iruka wasn't too worried as well." Naruto and Sasuke nodded in understanding. "He's one of the top Jounins and is known by the name of Copy-cat Ninja or Sharingan Kakashi."

At Sasuke's gasp Sakura stopped her account. "That can't be right. The sharingan is the Uchiha clan's bloodline, like the Hyuugas have the byakugan." Sakura nodded in understanding but Naruto looked more confused.

"Huh? What do you mean Sasuke? Who are the Hyuugas?"

Sasuke shook his head at how uninformed Naruto seemed to be. It reminded him of how much he didn't get when he first stepped into the wizarding world. Even Hermione, who had no wizarding connections, knew more than he had. He gave a mental sigh before going into a lecture tone.

"The Hyuugas are a noble clan of Konoha, as were the Uchihas before they were massacred. Both clans have bloodline limits that affect the eyes. Every Hyuuga is born with white eyes and no pupils. It doesn't mean their blind, but that they have the ability to see everything around them and through objects. They must train to achieve this, but the ability is there.

"The Uchihas have the potential to gain the sharingan, but it doesn't mean they will. When the sharingan is activated, our eyes turn red and comma-like dots appear around our pupils. The number of comma-like dots indicates how far the Uchiha has trained in the sharingan. A person may gain up to three in each eye.

"Unlike the byakugan, the sharingan does not allow 360 degree vision, or the ability to see through solid objects. Like the Hyuugas, the Uchihas can see chakra as a visible energy, inside and outside of the body. We also have the added ability to predict an opponents movement, and once we see a jutsu with the sharingan we can copy it and use it as our own."

Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Man, that sounds like a nice trick. Can you do that?"

Sasuke shook his head in negation. "No. I have yet to activate my sharingan."

The bitterness in his voice must not have been concealed enough. That, or his two friends could still read him like a book, no matter how hard he tried to stay aloof. "How does someone go about activating the sharingan?"

"I don't know. Nothing I've found will tell me how to activate it or how to do anything. My clan only has scrolls on Kanton jutsus and what the sharingan can do. When my parents were alive, my mother told me not to worry, it would come when I needed it." He snorted in disgust at that. If that were true he would have had the sharingan on the night Itachi killed his clan.

"Ahh, don't worry so much about it Sasuke. We'll let Sakura look at the scrolls and she'll be able to tell us something about it or know where we could look for more information. Besides, if Kakashi really does have the sharingan then he might be able to tell us."

"But he shouldn't have the sharingan. He's not an Uchiha, and those who do have the ability to activate the bloodline have dark blue eyes like mine. Kakashi's eye was grey-brown."

"Well, I don't know if he does or not, but that was what Inoshi told me. But if his name is also Copy-cat Ninja, then maybe he's known for copying his opponents in a different way and someone made a correlation to the sharingan for it's copy ability. Either way, Kakashi is known to have a thousand techniques and even created an original jutsu called the chidori.

"Inoshi didn't tell me what that did but only mentioned it was an assassination technique to kill quickly. He also wouldn't tell me anything about what the test tomorrow might be about. I was running late so I left it at that and he wished me good luck. But when I left I could have sworn he said 'you're going to need it with Kakashi.'"

Sasuke contemplated the information she had received while the three finished their dinner. Naruto ate four times as much as Sasuke and Sakura, and while Ron always had a large appetite, Sasuke wondered if the blonde had been eating enough while growing up. Ron had always been a tall person, but Naruto was the shortest one in the class. Harry had been that way due to malnutrition in his childhood. Maybe there was more to Naruto eating ramen all the time than Sasuke had first thought.

"Let's go check out the clan records. If Kakashi really does have the sharingan than it'll be in there." He led his two friends up the stairs into his parent's room. He ignored the feeling of sadness that crept upon him whenever he came here and headed for his father's desk. The file cabinet next to it was filled with C and D-class information. The rest had been kept at the Uchiha police force headquarters and confiscated after the massacre. Sasuke could only contemplate that they were now at the Hokage's office.

"There isn't much here due to the low security surround the Uchiha estate now a days. But all members of the clan, incidents surrounding the clan, and ninjas associated with the clan have a basic information dossier here. I'll look in on the ninjas associated with the clan. Sakura, take the incidents surround the clan, middle drawer. That'll be harder to find. Naruto, you can look at the members of the clan. Just read the names on the files. If Kakashi is an Uchiha and only changed his last name it'll be easy, if not, we'll have to read through each of them. The member's are in the bottom two drawers."

Sasuke removed the top middle drawer for Sakura before taking down the top drawer for himself. The members associated with the clan weren't in alphabetical order, but numerical based on the date when they began to associate with the clan. He began with the most recent and worked his way back. He found Hatake Kakashi's file in the time slot reserved for the end of the Stone-Leaf war.

It seemed like Kakashi was placed on the team as one Uchiha Obito along with Sakamoto Rin. When Obito died, one of his sharingan eyes was given to replace one of Kakashi's that had been lost on a mission. No more information was given. He relayed what he found to Naruto and Sakura, and Naruto quickly found the file on Uchiha Obito. Naruto and Sasuke read what was given while Sakura continued to look for anything in the incident file now that they had a time period to narrow down the search.

Obito had not been able to activate the sharingan by the time he graduated ninja school at eleven. At that point he was discouraged from pursuing a ninja career, but had refused to back down. He was placed on a team instructed by Uzumaki Arashi, also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash. That caught their attention. Naruto didn't know of any living relatives of his, but Konoha's Yellow Flash had the same last name as him.

"Found it! Kakashi lost his eye during an espionage attempt against the Stone. It was the same mission that Obito activated the sharingan, but he was crushed by a cave-in created by one of the enemy. His left eye was still intact and the medic-nin on their team transferred it to Kakashi on site before they re-engaged the enemy."

Naruto still seemed to be lost in thought, so Sasuke related the information they had found to Sakura. She made the suggestion that Uzumaki Arashi might be in the associated files and the three went back to work. They found him twelve years back.

Uzumaki Arashi, Konoha's Yellow Flash was first associated with Uchiha's when taking on the Genin team that contained Uchiha Obito. During the Stone-Leaf war, he worked with a long list of names from the clan. What really caught their attention was that at the end of the war, Uzumaki Arashi had taken the name of the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. He was killed a year later when using a forbidden jutsu to defeat the Kyuubi.

The three looked at each other for a moment. "Well, that sucks. I might be related to a Hokage and he was the one that sealed the damn demon in me." As always, Naruto seemed to break the silent tension in the room.

"We don't know for sure if he was related to you. Think about it logically. Many ninjas died during the Kyuubi attack and your father could have been one of those. If your mother died in childbirth you still would not have any relatives. Knowing what he was going to do to you, the fourth might have adopted you, legally giving you his name, in order to compensate for what you would have to sacrifice. He couldn't have been stupid enough to believe that someone with a demon in them would have a normal childhood."

"Unless he was like Fudge." Sasuke commented in derision. Whether the Fourth was related to Naruto or not, he wasn't happy with what the man had done to his friend. He may have meant well, but Naruto had suffered for it. It reminded him too much of Dumbledore leaving him with his relatives and waving it away with the excuse, 'it was for the best.'

"Hey! No family of mine is going to be that dumb, adopted or no." Naruto seemed to have taken real offense to his comment, but he had left himself wide open for another.

"Percy." The single word deflated the blonde boy and Sasuke felt terrible for half a second before remembering his earlier thought on the Fourth. It was better for him to be disappointed now, than to find out later that the Yondaime really was a Fudge or Percy.

"Hey. That's enough. I'll need to research the government a little more, but I don't believe that ninja hidden villages have quite the same deficiencies as the Ministry. Don't worry Naruto. If you do have family, alive or dead, we'll find out about them. And Sasuke, since Kakashi does have the sharingan then we can ask him about how to activate it. Since Obito did so while Kakashi was there, he might be able to tell us."

"Even if he can he might not. Did you guys notice? He acted lazy and uncaring, but his eye was as sharp as a tack. He was gauging our reactions and personalities during the whole time. I bet the other teams were told about the second test up front. Our conversation was all a subtle manuveur to find out how we work. Dumbledore did it often enough to me that I can't mistake it anywhere. It's why I went so cold when he asked me. I plan on continuing like that until I know I can trust him."

"Oh! So that's why. Yes, that makes sense. I can't think of another reason why a teacher would be so rude as he was. I probably didn't handle it very well, and I know Naruto acted too hot-headed."

"Hey!" Sakura ignored Naruto's outburst as she continued.

"We're going to have to plan very carefully for tomorrow then. The pamphlet he gave us tells us where, when, and what to pack. That'll be easy, but we need to find some strategies and battle plans to use against him. I doubt he wants the survival test to be us against nature as the pamphlet and name suggests. So we'll have to survive against something else. Since he said this mission only involved the four of use, it'll be us against him. Unless he splits us up into two-man groups."

"I doubt that Sakura." Naruto had gone into his tactic-mode speech. It was odd seeing the hyperactive blonde so serious, but Sasuke welcomed the change. Naruto's lack of discipline had always grated on his nerves before.

"We're divided into three man Genin teams, but we didn't get to choose who our partners were. I know that some of the graduates were complaining about who they received. Sasuke says he was watching our reactions. That probably means he's trying to figure out how well we work together.

"Remember the DA in sixth year? When we started grouping our classmates together so we could duel team against team, some of them couldn't work with each other. Like Lavender and Parvati. They were best friends but they both had different ideas on how to duel. We've shown Kakashi that we don't have any problems with each other outside of the field, but he needs to know we can fight together as well." Sasuke nodded. Naruto was making sense.

"That means we need to learn our current strength and weaknesses. We can't duel like we did before with magic and our bodies are different as well. It's nearing dusk so we don't have much time. The pamphlet states we have to be at training grounds seven at six a.m. Sakura, do you think you can convince your parents to let you spend the night. That way we can stay up later without having to worry about getting you home safely." Sasuke looked at his teammates for confirmation.

"I think I can do that. Everyone thinks you're really noble and you've never taken advantage of any of the girls who throw themselves at you. I doubt they'll have a problem. Until I know how they will react to Naruto I'm not going to mention him. Well probably have a few hours in the morning once we get there if what Inoshi says is correct. We'll want to have our skills worked out by morning incase Kakashi just pretends to be late in order to observe what we do, but we can scout out our surroundings and maybe add a few traps if we think he's not around."

"Right. That'll work well. In fact, we might want to go an hour earlier just to be safe, or maybe go in the middle of the night. If Kakashi thinks we know about his late habit he could trick us into thinking he's not there and we know now that he has an original assassination technique so that would indicate he's good at stealth. Sasuke might be able to sense him within hearing distance, but he could still watch us far enough out that our traps wouldn't work."

After agreeing on a game plan, Sasuke walked Sakura home to ask her parents permission and pick up some items they would need during the night and the next day. Tomorrow's test would certainly be interesting.


	3. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Sakura was completely exhausted. They had spent most of the night comparing skills and giving each other tips. She had been surprised at Naruto's kage bushin and Sasuke's skill with Katon jutsu. She didn't have the chakra for either but Sasuke did learn the kage bushin enough to have three solid kage bushins. The fact that Naruto could conjure up a handful after handful without breaking a sweat made it clear that the blonde had far more chakra than normal.

They had concluded that he had been forced to create more chakra on a subconscious level than normal in order to power the seal on his stomach. Sakura had made a copy of the seal to research when she could safely attend the library again. It seemed rather elaborate but by the stories they had heard it would have to be to contain the Kyuubi.

Sakura and Sasuke had worked with Naruto to try and refine his chakra control. Sakura could almost feel the weight of wasted chakra in the air when he did any jutsu. She decided she needed to research why he had so much trouble with regular bushin… especially considering his talent for kage bushin. It was interesting to note he had no problems with kawamari and henge either.

Sakura had been in the worst shape of the three. As she had thought, she was sorely lacking practical skills. The boys started to teach her the basics of taijutsu, before Sasuke realized that Naruto didn't know what he was doing either. Sasuke then taught the two of them how to fall correctly, and do basic kicks, blocks and punches. It wasn't much, but Naruto seemed to be able to adapt the corrections to his current brawling style without too much fuss. Since she didn't even have that much she would have to rely on dodging abilities that had been drummed into her during Hogwarts.

They experimented with their old skills and while they remembered them, some things didn't work as well as they used to. She needed to work on her balance in order to do many of the flips and rolls they had devised to dodge curses. They did discover that the minor wand-less magic Harry had been able to perform was still working, causing Sakura to wonder if there may be wizards and witches still around. She would have to research it more.

With the wand-less magic working, they all braved the idea to test their animagus forms as well. Sasuke went first and was success in transforming to his hawk-form, and Sakura had no trouble changing into a Siamese cat. When Naruto tried turning into his fox form, he couldn't. It was possible that having a demon could affect his magic as well as his chakra and again, Sakura made a vow to research this as well.

'_You'd think being a fox would make it easier. A bit ironic, really; but still puzzling. Maybe the demon is trying to force him into a demonic fox form instead of the woodland creature Ron used to transform into.'_ Sakura seemed to be making a list of things she'd have to find out. They did discover that the harder Ron tried, the more of a result he gained.

His face seemed to become more fox-like and the whisker-like scars on his cheeks deepened. Fingernails took on a claw-like quality and his muscles seemed to grow. Sasuke commented that the pupils in his eyes seemed to gain a cat-like appearance. In the end they decided not to continue trying to transform Naruto until they could determine the most likely effects Kyuubi could have.

When discussing strategies, Naruto had been a fountain of knowledge on traps. Naruto had used many of them in his pranks and had modified a few for that purpose. With her book knowledge of what was possible and Sasuke's limited wand-less abilities, they had created a few that they hoped Kakashi wouldn't notice until it was too late. Sasuke had been able to get them all the materials they need with all the ninja tools he had inherited.

One of the largest debates the three had was on appearances. Training ground seven was on the edge of the forest and Sakura and Sasuke were adamant on wearing colors that wouldn't stand out. Naruto had debated with them that he had been perfectly capable of being unseen when pulling pranks in this outfit, but was knocked down when they argued that all his pranks had been pulled off in the village itself, where colors were more abundant.

In the end, they had to compromise. Sakura already knew her red dress wouldn't be acceptable and had brought along a few changes of clothes in browns and greens. Sasuke told her that grays and dull blacks would have been better for blending in, but it was all she had. In the end she wore a pair of brown pants that wouldn't hinder her movement and a long-sleeved forest green shirt. Sasuke had found a hair solution that was used to darken and dull a ninja's hair to keep light from reflecting off it. Her hair turned out to be a dark strawberry-blonde.

Naruto had been forced to use it as well, and his turned to a darker shade of blonde that reminded Sakura of wheat fields. The black shirts Naruto wore under his jacket worked well, but he had to borrow a pair of dark gray pants from Sasuke. Sakura had hemmed the bottoms to fit him, and he seemed happy with them.

Because their styles changed so much, the two friends had ganged up on Sasuke to change as well. He had been planning on wearing a pair of charcoal black pants with his usual shirt, but Naruto and Sakura pointed out that the Uchiha symbol on the back could be seen just as easily as their hair had been. After agreeing to wear a gray long-sleeve shirt with no symbol, Sakura had felt better.

'_If I have to wear a long-sleeve shirt because of pale skin, so will Sasuke. He can join my misery in the heat if we have to be outside in the afternoon.'_ She only hoped that they would finish before then. The trio had stayed up a bit past one making all the preparations, and then had to be up at four-thirty.

She thought it was worth it though. They had scouted the area together and set the most devious traps first. They hadn't been done by six, but had left a few minutes prior in order to give the impression that they had just arrived on time. Sasuke hadn't felt Kakashi's presence at all.

Ten minutes after six the three had split up on the false pretences of scouting the area for themselves. They were all under a henge to look like their normal selves. It was a strain, but Sakura was determined keep up with the boys. The more surprises they could through Kakashi's way, the better of a chance they would have. They each placed more traps that they would try to use during the test, but they knew there was a chance their teacher would know about them. By half past seven they were all back in the clearing and there was still no sign of Kakashi.

Sasuke and Naruto told Sakura to rest while they waited for the instructor to show and she was too tired to argue. Besides, Sasuke had the best senses and Naruto seemed to have an unlimited amount of charka. It was only logical that she should rest when she could.

She was now waiting for their teacher and trying not to go to sleep in fear of dispelling the henge she was maintaining. It was getting close to nine in the morning when Kakashi finally decided to show. "Yo!" The lazy Jounin exclaimed as the cloud of smoke from his transportation jutsu dissipated.

Sakura was too tired to lecture him, but settled on glaring. Sasuke seemed to be doing the best job with his Snape-glare, but Naruto didn't seem to be far behind by adding a snarl. _'Are those fangs?' _Sakura wondered dimly before their instructor started laughing sheepishly.

"Well, you see. I got lost on the road of life…" His lame excuse trailed off and when they didn't say anything in return he coughed for a moment and then continued. "Yes, well… As I said yesterday, this is a test to see if you are capable of being a ninja." He took out a small alarm clock from his waist utility pack and set it on a nearby stump.

"You have until noon to get a bell from me. You'll need to come at me with killing intent to even come close. Whoever gets a bell passes." He held up two bells that jingled lightly as the bounced on the end of their short strings.

"But there are only two bells Kakashi," Sakura pointed out politely.

"Ahh, you see that's the fun part. Whoever doesn't have a bell will be sent back to the Academy, and will be tied to one of these logs and I'll eat lunch in front of you." He started snickering as the three friends exchanged glances. That wasn't good.

"Now." Kakashi was suddenly serious making Sakura wonder whether his laughter had been faked. "You have three hours. Start!" His hand went down on the start button for the alarm and the three dashed into the woods in different directions. If he didn't expect them to work together than it would be easier. As soon as she was out of sight she dropped her henge with a silent cheer.

Sakura stashed her backpack in a safe location before moving quietly towards their meeting place for a quick strategy session. Naruto would watch the teacher for any movements and send a kage bushin to their meeting to relay his thoughts. When she reached the small clearing Naruto and Sasuke were already there. The dark-haired teen nodded at her and with a small hand gesture he had set up a simple silencing spell.

"Something is up. If the failure rate is 66 why does he give us a 66 chance at passing?" It was hard to remember that this wasn't the real Naruto. The kage bushins seemed just like him. Sakura added finding a way to tell the difference between real and kage to her mental list of research.

"It must be a trick, but of what kind?" Sasuke was staring at the ground, trying to figure out the catch. When none could come up with a solution after a few minutes Sakura decided to give them another option.

"We only have three hours to get those bells. If he does pass two of us and not the other then we can all decided to go back to the Academy together. We don't have the time to sit and ponder the implications for that long. What's he doing now Naruto?"

"He took out a book and started reading it. I'm pretty sure it's one of those smut books. The title looks like _'Icha Icha Paradise'_." Naruto-bushin looked thoughtful but before he could add more Sasuke spoke up.

"Don't think about using the Sexy no Jutsu. It could catch someone off guard, but I'm sure Iruka had complained enough about it that Kakashi should be aware of your stupid skill." Naruto-bushin looked a little disappointed and even a bit upset at Sasuke's insult to his original jutsu, but Sakura distracted him by asking about what strategies they could use.

"We have no chance one on one, and probably not three on one. We need to draw him out in the woods. Since the bells are our objective, the smart thing would be for him to stay in the open. He should want to test our skills as well, though, so he may humor us by going along with a clever tactic.

"The best bet is to let him think we're being clever and have two of us face of against him. Maybe alternate in attacking so he doesn't suspect we're working together. If we can get his book, I'm sure we could lure him into the woods and past a few traps. One we get him in the trees we can have a third member hidden to grab the bells when the other two have distracted him enough."

Sasuke nodded at his thought and elaborated on it. "You're supposedly the 'loud one' and you never really paid attention in class, so it wouldn't be too far fetched to have you charge him. You still have you henge on, right?" At the kage bushin's nod, Sasuke continued with his plan. "With that you can attack without giving Kakashi away any surprises. You have limited taijutsu and I bet he'll taunt you by reading as he fights.

"If we can get him to the east side of the clearing, there's a spot that would work well. Hopefully he'll only be expecting an attack or for someone to reach for the bells. Once I have the book I can lead him past the smoke bomb and into the trip-wire clearing. It would work perfect for this. Naruto and I can double team him while Sakura stays hidden."

Sakura was disappointed she couldn't contribute more, but it seemed like a good plan. She had the least amount of chakra to hide and wouldn't do well in a taijutsu/ninjutsu battle right now. "We could change the pit fall in the clearing to a hiding space. I'm sure I can get the covering to hold up against Kakashi's weight but trigger from underneath. We could devise a signal that you two could give when you see an opening."

"We'll use a kage bushin. That pit is supposed to be for Kakashi, so you can stand on my shoulders and that would solve any problems from having to fill it in. We still need a back-up plan for getting Sasuke away with the book. Even with the smoke bombs a Jounin shouldn't have a problem catching a Genin. If we used the smoke bombs as a momentary distraction we could switch Sasuke for a disguised kage bushin." Sakura looked at Naruto-bushin in confusion.

"Can you use henge as a kage bushin?" Naruto-bushin nodded in response and made the appropriate hand seals. A moment later a copy of a normally dressed Sasuke started back at her. "I think he's got a good idea Sasuke. You should try to go henged as you normal clothes and than switch out. How hard is it to henge a kage bushin Naruto?"

"Not too much. It's like doing a normal henge, but it takes the same amount to maintain a henged kage bushin as a regular kage bushin."

"Can you make a few to look like each of us and scatter them around the trip-wire clearing? I can sense the chakra in your kage bushin so it could confuse Kakashi's own senses and give Sakura another edge." It was odd hearing two Sasuke's talk but it was no time to reflect on the odd situation.

The Sasuke look-a-like nodded in agreement to the new additions to their plan. "Right. Lets get going. As soon as Sasuke arrives to watch Kakashi I'll move off and make a bunch of kage bushins and then move into engage. Sakura, a few of the bushins will help you support the pit trap and keep you updated on our situation." The real Sasuke took down the silencing bubble and the three moved off after Sasuke henged into his normal attire.

It didn't take long to get to the clearing and Sakura knew how to avoid setting off the traps they had set. A few bushin looking like Team Seven in normal dress soon joined her. They had the pit trap reconfigured for a hiding space in quick order and the kage bushins let her know that Kakashi was slowly moving back towards the east tree line.

Naruto had ended up placing a few Sasuke-bushins around the original clearing in order to keep Kakashi from avoiding the real Sasuke's hiding spot. Sakura winced in sympathy when the 1000 years of pain technique was reported and was disappointed when Naruto had to use the kage bushins directly to accomplish driving Kakashi in the right direction.

As planned, when Sasuke moved, Kakashi didn't see him going for the book. _ 'Icha Icha Paradise' _was captured and when the two boys moved off the smoke bomb traps were set off without a problem. It blinded their teacher for enough time to make a switch with Sasuke and a bushin look-a-like.

The bushin relaying information had hidden in the trap with her, but stopped talking when it became obvious the thee combatants were making their way in. Sakura listened to the combat above. She realized that the real Sasuke had to join in the fight when she heard a Katon jutsu being used. It seemed like forever before the bushin snapped, "Move, right side!" Having no time to hesitate she leapt from her concealment, hand positioned to grab the bells on her right, and trust in Naruto's directions.

It wasn't enough. At the last minute Kakashi used a kawamari and the three teammates were left alone in a field of kage bushins. They had no time to decide their next move before Naruto's clones disappeared a few puffs of smoke. The real one looked around in confusion. Kakashi dashed back into the clearing causing the trio to scatter. Sakura was about to retreat when she heard Naruto yell, "Genjutsu!"

She didn't even wonder about it. She just placed her hands into the right seal, yelling "Kai!" The Naruto clones that had seemed to dispel had were back and the Kakashi that was attacking an exhausted Sasuke disappeared. She felt odd watching the dark-haired teen dodge invisible blows before he managed to sneak a 'kai' in during his imaginary fight.

"Naruto, cover us! Regroup in section C." A dozen voices of henge echoed across the clearing at Sasuke's command and the Naruto clones now looked identical to Team Seven's true appearance, save Naruto who still hadn't taken off his henge. Sakura didn't wait for long before ducking into the cover, noting which traps had been sprung and which hadn't.

She set off a minor tree fall to discourage Kakashi following her and then went through a trap that triggered a smoke screen. She hid in a small space under a group of ferns and steadied her breathing and brought her chakra under control. By doing so there should be minimum chakra to sense. She counted to three hundred before daring to break cover.

Once more she had a stealthy trek through the forest to regroup in a different position they had designated as section C. Naruto was already there but she didn't see Sasuke. A quick question about the spell incantation for a stunner let her know this was a true teammate and not an imposter. They waited silently for a few minutes but when Sasuke didn't show they began a quiet plan on how to proceed.

One of Naruto's bushins had located Kakashi before being destroyed. It seemed Sasuke was buried to his neck in the earth and Kakashi wasn't letting them have a chance to help him out. Sakura demanded a list of skills the boys had witness during their fight. She listened with a careful ear before recapping for Naruto's benefit.

"He is suppose to know a thousand techniques so the Doton jutsu shouldn't be surprising. He probably had a lot of different varieties. His taijutsu is superior as expected. The kawamari you describe must be a higher version to be able to switch spots with a living being. I believe if you added a hare and bird seal along with a barrier of your own chakra around your target…" She shook her head from that tangent and continued on with her analyzes. "It seems like he doesn't need hand seals for that version or the original kawamari. He still hasn't taken us too seriously if he hasn't shown the sharingan yet and we can hope it stays that way. What do you think we can do?"

"Well, the way I see it we might have a chance if we had that book, but Sasuke still has it. I kept sending clones in, but Kakashi killed them before they had much of a chance to do anything. I've stopped so we can hope he thinks we've given up on that tactic. When we approach we'll go with the remaining bushins so he'll have a variety of targets and won't know who the real ones are. Our best chance is to get Sasuke out and regroup once more. I know that'll waste a bit of time, but without the three of us, our chances are next to none. It took everything Sasuke and I could give to just get him in position once, and that took nearly ninety minutes. If we…" He trailed off for a moment before telling Sakura one of his clones was coming.

When it arrived, he had it transform, but Sakura was shocked to see a book after the transformation rather than another person. _'I didn't know you could do that. I bet it's because it's a kage bushin rather than a person of actual mass that allows such a transformation. I wonder…'_ Once moreSakura had to shake her head out of the technicalities involved in a technique and turned back to Naruto.

"I wasn't sure if that would work. It takes a bit of chakra, but I've still got enough. With this we can…" Sakura listened to the next plan carefully adding a few suggestions and was smiling by the end of their planning session. Within moments they were off.

-Scene Break-

Sasuke cursed himself for being caught a second time with Kakashi's Doton jutsu. This time there was no Naruto to pull him out, although one of his bushins had tried. The only saving grace was that Kakashi had been under the impression that Sasuke was the mastermind behind their previous plan. The Jounin was staying nearby to insure his teammates wouldn't be able to rescue him. Any kage bushin that wandered into the area was quickly dispatched. It seemed their instructor was taking no chances, although he had yet revealed his sharingan.

This was fine for Sasuke. He knew his friends. Naruto would have a new plan and Sakura would iron out the details. The only thing that worried Sasuke was how much time they had left. It had taken a lot to make the first plan work and he couldn't figure more than half an hour left until noon. With a little bit of wand-less magic, loosening the dirt near his body would make getting out of this hole easy, but he didn't want to give too much away until they could find out more about magic in relation to their current world.

Instead he was using his meager chakra abilities and a bit of physical effort. He wasn't as stuck as he was ten minutes ago but he wasn't going to get out for a while yet. Trying to keep his neck still and his facial expression blank to keep Kakashi from knowing what he was trying was making his efforts twice a difficult. Without his book, Kakashi had taken to telling him everything that had been wrong with 'Sasuke's plan'. When it was obvious that Sasuke was ignoring him, Kakashi had rapt him on the head a few times and attempted to continue on. But Sasuke was adamant.

When the Jounin had stopped speaking the two stared at each other - Kakashi with a lazy expression and Sasuke with a stoic one. They watched each other for several minutes before a loud yell caught their attention.

"Oi! Kakashi-san. Didn't you forget something?" Naruto was waving around a little orange book a few meters away. There were several kage bushins nearby and as Sasuke scan around, he realized they had been surrounded. He took his cue and started loosening the dirt with small pushes of magic as Kakashi's attention was turned aside.

"Ah! And what do you suggest I do Naruto?" The blonde just gave that fox-like grin and placed the book in his waist utility pack.

"You'll just have to work for it!" With that Naruto and his kage bushins charged into the clearing. The Naruto that had yelled at Kakashi was the Jounin's first target and turned out to be a clone. The Naruto-like bushins taunted Kakashi while the Sakura-like ones just grinned. None made any indication of who was real.

As they engaged in Kakashi, the Sakura-like bushins had a noticeable lack of taijutsu, making it even more difficult to decide. Sasuke took the opportunity to jump out of his trap hole and retreat. Naruto would send a bushin to inform him of the plan. Sure enough one found him and informed him that the plan was to get him out and regroup. Sakura and Naruto hadn't expected him to get of the hole on his own as fast as he did.

"The good thing is we have a back-up. If we make our attack seem like a last ditch effort, we should be defeated a few minutes before the alarm. As long as Kakashi has that book, we can make it." The Naruto-bushin finish the explanation and Sasuke didn't hesitate before dashing back into the clearing to help his teammates. Time was running out.

It didn't take long for the clones to be killed off. When it was just the three teammates left, Sasuke let one of the more painful hits keep him down. He was out of breath and it didn't take much effort to pretend he didn't have anything left to give. Sakura came over and asked if he was all right in her fan girl voice. Sasuke knew it was probably for Kakashi's benefit but he couldn't help but grimace at the tone.

Naruto took a bit more time to knock down, but he put up an impressive effort. The blonde even went as far as creating a few more kage bushins and attacking wildly when his two teammates were out of commission. At the end of the fight Kakashi picked Naruto up by the scruff of his neck. He flailed his arms about and shouted at the top of his lungs, demanding to be put down. The Jounin only calmly reached behind the blonde to take out his book from Naruto's waist utility pouch.

Naruto's yells increased and Sasuke had a difficult time concealing a smirk at the blonde's ridiculous claims of Kakashi cheating and how there was no way the blonde could be beat by just a lame-ass Jounin as their current teacher. His teammate certainly seemed to be living up to his reputation as an idiot.

Kakashi ignored the blonde and tossed him over towards Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke had to make a quick roll to avoid being landed on. Having caught his breath, the Uchiha heir settled on glaring at the Jounin and looking like he was attempting to formulate another plan of attack. He didn't want to hinder anything the other two had planned by taking any unneeded actions.

"Now, now. It doesn't look like you guys are doing too well. You only have a few minutes left and I still have the two bells. It looks like you will ALL be going back-" Whatever Kakashi had planed on saying was cut off when he gestured at the bells with his newly reclaimed copy of _'Icha Icha Paradise'_. With a small cloud of smoke a Naruto-bushin popped into existence and grabbed the two bells. Before Kakashi could take them back the bushin slid out of his jacket that Kakashi had a hold of and drop-rolled over to the true Team Seven.

Naruto took the bells from his bushin before letting it dissipate and turned on his huge fox-grin. "What were you saying Kakashi?" The taunt was deliver just as Naruto handed each of his teammates a bell and not a moment later the three could hear the alarm going off in the original clearing.

Their Jounin instructor just looked at the trio and Sasuke thought he could see a hint of respect in the man's lazy posture. "Hn. I guess Sasuke and Sakura pass then. Let's go Naruto. You'll be tied to the post while the three of us get to eat some lunch."

"Wait a minute. We all got the bells Kakashi. Naruto got them from you and we got them from him. He's just the only one that doesn't have it physically in his hands right now." Sakura tried to appeal to Kakashi's logic. As Sasuke watched the Jounin start shaking his head in the middle of the explanation, he knew Kakashi wasn't going to let Naruto go.

"Nice try, but I must not have been clear enough. Only the two of you with a physical bell will be allowed to pass. Naruto will be sent back to the Academy after we eat lunch. Don't worry. There's always next year." _'Well, there's only one thing to do after he said that,' _Sasuke thought to himself.

He shared a glance with Sakura and she nodded in understanding. Sakura gave Naruto a small grin and Sasuke allowed a short quirk of his mouth that was something of a half-smirk. Naruto understood. The two Genin walked up to Kakashi and handed him the two bells. Then they turned and started to walk off in the opposite direction of the original clearing.

"Where are you two going?" Kakashi asked. They both stopped and Sasuke turned his head around to answer the Jounin instructor.

"One of the conditions of not having a bell was being tied to a trunk while you ate lunch in front of them. There was nothing about us having to participate. You also passed us, but there's no rule against declining. We do. Naruto has to wait until you're done with lunch. We're going to pick up our gear and disable the unused traps. We'll pick him up on our way out."

There was no hiding the surprise in Kakashi's visible eye. Sasuke turned back around and started to walk away. He couldn't help but give a last parting shot at their would-have-been instructor. "As you said: Don't worry. There's always next year." Sakura and he didn't get too far when the Jounin called them back.

"Ah. Don't go just yet. You three have been very interesting today. You seem to understand the concept of this test. Teamwork. A ninja who obeys the rules is trash, but a ninja who abandons their teammates is lower than trash.

"You three worked as a team right from the start. You continued to worked as a group the entire test and didn't leave a captured teammate behind when Sasuke was captured." Kakashi looked rather pleased with himself, but Sasuke wasn't amused.

If the point of the exercise was teamwork, they had proven it long before the alarm had gone off. He could understand the need for deception in this test, but there had been no point in continuing it after they had clearly passed the requirements. Before he had a chance to comment, Sakura beat him to it.

"If we needed to show teamwork, why didn't you just tell us we passed when the alarm went off? We even had the bells so you didn't have to tell us the underlining meaning."

Kakashi looked sheepishly at the too and tried to explain. "I would have informed you after lunch, but you two didn't give me much of a chance. I'll let you know right now that you've passed with flying colors."

The Jounin hadn't even looked at Naruto during the explanation and even seemed to be ignoring Sakura. Sharing a look with Sakura and then Naruto, Sasuke decided that Kakashi wasn't turning out to be a very good teacher. The Jounin reminded him in so many ways of Dumbledore: the friendly façade, the special consideration of the 'prize' student, and the praising of Harry while ignoring others that deserved praise just as much.

"Hn. Fine. Sakura and I will continue with our plans, but we'll accept the Genin rank with Naruto. Naruto, when Kakashi is done torturing you, we'll go eat. Don't let him enjoy it too much." His words were delivered in a cold tone and a perfect Snape-glare never left Kakashi's face. Sasuke had the satisfaction to see the happy grin fade from his teacher's face. No one would mess with his friends if the Uchiha heir had any say in it.

"Right!" With a sharp salute and a cheeky grin Naruto acknowledged his order. He turned around and started off to the clearing waving for Kakashi to follow. "C'mon teach. You seemed to want to eat in front of me so much, let's get it on with. I'll have to say it wasn't really smart pissing off Sasuke right from the start. He's a right asshole when he's mad and those glares of his-" Naruto gave a huge fake shiver.

"Damn those are scary. But hey! You're a big bad Jounin so I'm sure you don't care what a little Genin thinks. I mean you sure didn't care if you kept up the entire 'You fail!' gig when it was obvious we were working as a team. Why I bet…" Naruto's voice faded the farther apart the Genins were.

Sasuke and Sakura hadn't stuck around to let Kakashi try to smooth over his mistake. He might be a great fighter and know a lot of useful techniques, but there was no way they were going to put up with his current attitude. They collected the unused trap parts, separated the salvageable parts form the rubbish in the used traps and picked up their packs before returning to the original clearing.

Naruto was still using his babbling skills at their finest when he caught sight of the two teammates. "Hey you guys! Did you know that after all the trouble this bastard made to get me tied up to the stump for lunch he didn't even want to do it when we got here? Why I had to make him tie me up, and when he claimed he wasn't very hungry, I had to argue with him. Just to make him eat his damn lunch! And then he didn't even take very long doing it! What's the point of torturing a hungry person if you're not even going to make them suffer?"

Kakashi looked properly sheepish and a little irritated at Naruto's banter. Sasuke gave Naruto a satisfied nod and the blonde promptly shut up. As Sakura began to untie him, Sasuke turned his attention to his next confrontation. "We're done with clean up, I take it your done with Naruto torture?" Kakashi started to nod his head and Sasuke continued before the Jounin could make excuses.

"Then do we have anymore duties or missions or are we dismissed for the day?" Sakura and Naruto had joined him at either side and while Sasuke had opted for an impassive face, his two teammates were glaring. Faced with the three teens, the Jounin took the easy way out.

With a sigh the Kakashi dismissed them for the day. He let them know that tomorrow they would meet at the red water bridge on the southeast side of town that connected the training grounds with the village. They were to meet at seven o'clock and only standard equipment would be needed.

Sasuke gave a polite nod and the three parted ways from the instructor. A soft 'poof' of sound indicated the Jounin's teleport. One thing was certain: If he didn't ditch the suck-up attitude, their instructor was in for a very long treatment of the cold shoulder.

-Scene Break-

"Naruto, aren't you going to release your henge yet?" The blonde blinked at Sakura before looking down at himself. He had forgotten he was wearing a henge at all until Sakura had mentioned it. With a quick 'kai' he was back into his toned-down outfit and darkened hair.

"Eh. I forgot about that." Sakura looked at him in disbelief before looking down at the road in thought.

"I guess you really do have a lot of chakra. You kept up a lot of clones for nearly three hours and a lot of them were henged which took a bit more chakra when initiated." When he agreed, Sakura continued. "You also did a few inanimate henges that I didn't even know was possible. Those took a nice chunk of chakra as well, right?"

"Just doing that henge was like creating two kage bushins. Maintaining it was about as difficult as maintaining a normal kage bushin though." Sakura nodded her head at the explanation and thought a bit more before continuing. Sasuke didn't comment but his head was tilted to the side to listen in.

"If you add all of those together, plus the henge you were maintaining and the fact that you have a lot of extra chakra wasted with each jutsu… I doubt a Chuunin could keep up with that. The kage bushin is a Jounin level technique after all. And Sasuke can only make three even with his practice at Katon jutsus.

"I bet if Sasuke and I tried to keep henge up all day it would help increase our own chakra reserves. I had a hard time keeping it up for a few hours so I probably have a real low chakra level. Sasuke held it for the same amount of time, plus an extra hour after reapplying it. I know I heard at least one Katon jutsu while hiding. He probably has a higher level of chakra than I do but no where near Kakashi's level," She gave a self-satisfied nod as she finished out her explanation.

Sasuke seemed to think on her information before suggesting, "We should find more ways to increase our chakra and you two need to learn taijutsu. Sakura, you'll have to strengthen your muscles more and increase your endurance. Naruto, you'll need to work with me on increasing your basic knowledge of ninjas. You didn't have anyone to inform of things most know as common sense and you didn't pay much attention in class. Since Sakura will need to spend more time on physical training it'll be up to me to do some of the research I know she's dying to do."

Sakura blushed a bit at Sasuke's comment and Naruto frowned at the thought of all that studying. He had missed a lot at the Academy, but he still didn't like the idea of bookwork. At least with Sasuke and Sakura he knew he'd only get the necessary information. _'And we learned some pretty neat stuff when we were left on our own in those last two years at Hogwarts. Even if I probably wouldn't have been able to pass my NEWTS in anything but charms or defense, it was worth it.' _

"We need to learn some way of refining chakra control for Naruto and the information on demons and seals will be critical. I'll need to do that in the library without checking out any of the scrolls. People might get suspicious if I suddenly take an interest in those two subjects after just being put on the team with Naruto.

"I'll make up a list of topics and borrow some books and scrolls that won't raise any eyebrows and get them to you. That should work until we get good enough at holding henge for long periods of time. Then you two can come with me if you're disguised as Ino and maybe Shikamaru. I'm pretty sure they'll cover for us if we let them know so there won't be any questions of being in two places."

Sakura's suggestion made a good amount of sense. After learning Sexy no Jutsu he was sure that transforming into Ino wouldn't be that embarrassing. Sasuke would probably refuse to be a woman and that would leave him Shikamaru's form. Since neither boy talked often, it wouldn't be too hard for Sasuke to imitate the lazy Genin. '_I'll need to find out just how Ino acts around Sakura and Shikamaru a little more though.'_

"For now we should probably call it a day. You're parents will want to know what happened and Sasuke and I can start on that knowledge thing. The moves he taught us last night you can practice on your own tonight and if Kakashi doesn't show tomorrow it'll give us something to work on until he arrives. No need to keep that bit a secret. We're supposed to be training." Sasuke and Sakura nodded at Naruto's advice and soon they arrived at the point where Sakura would go her own way.

She told the boys she'd leave her things at the Uchiha estate since it would soon be a second home for her. The trio smiled at each other and even when they went their separate ways Naruto still felt content. _'This is how it's suppose to be. Even with psychotic brothers, a demon fox, and learning how to be ninjas of all things. We're together and we're going to stay that way.'_

-Scene Break-

Hatake Kakashi was still pondering his new Genin team when he arrived at the Hokage tower. As usual, he was the last instructor to have the results on his team. The only two who had passed their teams were Asuma and Kurenai. No one seemed surprised that he had actually passed a team this year. With Uchiha Sasuke as a member many of the Jounin thought he would pass them no matter what. That was a lie, but he let them think what they would.

They were to exchange information about the skills they had observed their Genin using and tell how the team had passed the test. Asuma had gone the lazy route and just had the team cross an obstacle course that was designed to need three or more participants. The only surprise there was the twist Shikamaru had given to a few of the obstacles.

When the team had gotten to the drop and crawl area, Ino had a fit about what it would do to her outfit and how the wire above would catch in her hair. After a ten minute rant the dark-hair boy had rolled his eyes, mutter about it being too troublesome and began cutting the wires so they could pass safely without killing Ino's fashion sense.

The short swamp the three needed to wade was a similar dilemma with Ino, and when Chouji mentioned how his potato chips were going to be ruined, Shikamaru had once more rolled his eyes before having Chouji hand him his bag of food. The new Genin then had Chouji carry Ino over on his shoulders and then got a ride himself. He claimed it was too troublesome to have two people soaked in mud if one of them was willing to give the other two a ride. Chouji's food was unharmed and the large boy didn't seem to mind at all.

When they reached the wall climb after that, the mud was suppose to hinder the team and make it more difficult to climb. While Ino and Shikamaru would have no problem thanks to Chouji, it would have been more difficult for their third teammate. Shikamaru took one look at the wall before telling his friend to Meat Tank it and then they wouldn't have to bother. One Akamichi family jutsu later and the three Genins were strolling through a new hole in the wall.

Kurenai then told the Hokage about how her team passed her tracking test with flying colors. Luckily it was nothing more than the three teammates using their family traits in tandem. No extra surprises and no odd outlooks; just the Hyuuga byakugan, an Inuzuka dog, and some Aburame bugs.

"So did you still do the old bell test Kakashi?" He nodded to the Hokage in affirmation. "I see. So who had to be tied to the stump?" The Jounin grimaced in remembrance of that terrible lunch before informing him that it was Naruto. The Hokage chuckled for a moment before continuing. "I thought it might. How closed did they each get to catching a bell?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "They all got one at one point or another." The look of shock on the Hokage's face was more than worth suffering through Naruto's ranting.

"How? What happened?" That was Kurenai. She had never seen one of the bell tests as this was her first year as a Jounin instructor, but no doubt the others had been filling her up with stories of all the teams he had failed.

"Ah. I'm still not sure." The three looked at him for more information but he didn't give in. "But they worked well together and got the bells. Only skills of note are Naruto's kage bushin and Sasuke's Katon skills."

The two Jounin narrowed their eyes at Kakashi's lack of information, but he kept his eyes on the Hokage. When Sarutobi didn't ask for more information Kakashi took the opportunity to end the meeting. "So… I'm meeting them tomorrow and we'll start our missions. Do you need anything else?"

The Third shook his head and then waved the three off. As Kakashi turned to go, he reached in his pack to get his copy of _'Icha Icha Paradise'_. When his hand met empty air he froze before remembering what happened to it. He sighed as he realized his team hadn't returned his book.

"Something wrong Kakashi?" He turned his head to see the Hokage looking at him strangely. He gave a weak chuckle and scratched the back of his head.

"I just remembered that I didn't have my book with me."

"Oh? Why not?" As a fellow lover of the _'Icha Icha Paradise'_ series, the Third knew that the Jounin didn't go anywhere around the village without one of the books in his utility pack.

"Well… My team kind of stole it…" The Hokage just stared at him and Kakashi felt incredibly stupid and prayed to whatever God who cared to listen that the village leader wouldn't ask more.

"Stole it?" The Jounin only nodded. "Which one?"

"Sasuke." The Hokage looked at him in disbelief. No doubt the old man had thought out of all of them Naruto would have been the culprit. _'Come to think of it, Naruto probably gave him the idea.'_ When the Third didn't respond right away Kakashi took his cue to leave.

As he closed the Hokage's office door behind him he swore he heard the old man burst into laughter. When trying to figure out what had prompted that response, Kakashi came up with the image of the stoic Uchiha giggling with blushed cheeks while reading the book. Chuckling at the absurd image, Kakashi made his way home to pick up a different volume. He'd have to collect his missing book in the morning.


	4. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

Team Seven wasn't improving as fast as they'd like. Kakashi insisted they arrive at the bridge at seven every morning. He never showed until after nine o'clock unless there was an early morning mission. The one time they had skipped showing up early in order to study some more they were met with an irate Kakashi at nine o'clock. It happened to be one of the rare days they had an early mission that they were late for it by half an hour even by Kakashi's standards.

They hadn't cared about the lecture Kakashi had given them and ignored the threats of being sent back to the Academy. He hadn't any room to talk about being late. Still, they didn't want to be known for tardiness like their teacher and decided it was safer to meet on time. It hindered their training more than they would like, but there was nothing they could do about it. They didn't want their instructor to see what they were studying.

'_That's about all he is: an instructor. He doesn't teach us really. We've only had six missions in the last four weeks and all were along the lines of picking up trash or babysitting children. Can you even consider going shopping for an old lady a ninja mission?'_ Team Seven had tried their best to practice even while on stupid missions, but all their efforts seemed stopped by Kakashi.

When babysitting, Sakura and Sasuke had tried to juggle a handful of kunai to entertain the two young children were watching. They knew they were skilled enough not to harm anyone but had Naruto place a few kage bushin transformed as toys in front of the kids just in case. The bushins could transform and protect the children if needed. Yet, Kakashi had confiscated their weapons after only a few tosses.

When they tried balancing the paper grocery bags on the palm of their hands to increase their balance and arm muscles, Kakashi had told them to quit fooling around. When attempting to use chakra like a blade to trim hedges (as they had discovered to be possible after reading a scroll on various forms of chakra manipulation), they were told they couldn't handle a jutsu like that yet and to do the job like everyone else. Nothing they said or explained to the Jounin made any difference. There was no practicing new skills while on missions.

That would have been tolerable, but when they weren't doing a mission, Kakashi had them spar against each other until three or four in the afternoon before letting them go. He never gave them any advice, nor did he really watch them as they practiced. He read his book in a nearby tree and let them do as they pleased as long as they were sparring. Sasuke used the time to help his teammates improve, but as they were already practicing for the two hours they waited for Kakashi, the sparring lessons seemed rather repetitive.

Sasuke had to admit that their taijutsu wouldn't have increase as much as it had if it hadn't been for the daylong practices, but if Kakashi had been coaching them they would have progressed more. As it was they were struggling to make as much improvement as they were. Sasuke's taijutsu only developed when Sakura found another taijutsu scroll in the library and he could decipher it correctly. It was a long and tedious process and there was a high percentage of misreading a move. Scrolls were a poor substitution for a living instructor.

All in all, Team Seven had decided their teacher was a flake and paid attention to him only when necessary. Sakura went to Ino to get tips on training but the blonde just scoffed said to get another instructor if they didn't like the one they had. So on a rare day off had gone to find Team Eight's Jounin teacher, Asuma, and ask for advice.

The Jounin seemed surprised when they asked him, but after explaining what Kakashi did every day he just nodded and remarked that it was just like Kakashi. But he let them know that they couldn't get extra instruction from another sensei without their main instructor's permission. They had given up hope until Asuma agreed to give them a few pointers if they didn't mention the fact to anyone. That was how they learned how to climb trees without their hands to perfect chakra control and that there were certain jutsu scrolls Genin were allowed access to at the Hokage tower.

It only increased their ire at Kakashi when Asuma gave them the basics on what being a Genin meant and what their privileges and responsibilities were. It was ridiculous that Kakashi had never informed them of the jutsu library, or such things as: _'in the event of an invasion Genin were to help evacuate the village and protect the non-ninja citizens'_. Sure an invasion was rather far-fetched, and according to Asuma most Genin didn't train seriously until a few years after they were promoted. But these tidbits of information and others Asuma gave them were certainly useful and could be vital if anything had happened.

Still, they kept their agreement with Asuma and never let on to Kakashi that they were doing extra training outside of what he kept them at. After their daylong taijutsu practice they studied various techniques, which Naruto loved, and learned as much as they could about surrounding nations and famous ninjas and their clans, which Sakura insisted was important.

Sasuke and Sakura could now hold up their 'normal appearance' henge without strain. The first week of training with Kakashi the two had to actually stay in their normal clothes in case they failed, and Sakura had been ecstatic when she figured out a way to partially henge in order to just disguise her hair. It took Sasuke nine days before he was back in his 'new and improved' outfit, and Sakura was able to keep up after two weeks.

Thanks to the tree-climbing exercise from Asuma, Naruto's control with jutsus was at the same level as Sasuke had when they first formed Team Seven. They practiced sticking to trees while sparring at least an hour every night after resting sufficiently from their regular day practice. It left each of the three exhausted, but a good night's rest helped them get through the next day. And everyday seemed to be getting easier and easier.

"Naruto! Stop picking on Tora-chan!" Sasuke held back a sigh as his thoughts were brought back to the present. During their most recent mission, they had actually practiced a useful ninja skill, but it hadn't been Kakashi's idea.

The Lady Fire's cat had run away once more and it was Team Seven's turn to get it back. It seemed this happened fairly often and the Hokage had given specific orders to use electronic communication devises and a standard surround and capture formation to find the cat, Tora-chan. He claimed it was good practice to used advanced skills during a simple mission. Sasuke wondered why Kakashi could listen to the Hokage but ignore his own team when they used almost the same words.

"I'm not picking on the damn cat! I'm only defending myself from the stupid fur-ball!" Unfortunately now that they had the cat, it was giving Sasuke flashbacks of Hogwarts third year and his two friends fights over Crookshanks. It seemed Sakura was still a cat lover while Naruto was still adamant about the evils of all felines.

They returned Tora-chan to the Lady Fire without any more difficulties than Naruto gaining a few more lumps on his head thanks to Sakura. As Sasuke watched the cat being squeezed to death by a 'hug', he realized why so many teams were sent out to look for the cat.

As usual they went to the Hokage to find out when their next mission would be. Sometimes they would receive nothing and have to wait for Kakashi to report their next mission, while other times they would find out what their next mission was only to discover it was a few days to a week away. Today seemed to be one of the later.

"Team Seven. Your next mission will be babysitting—" The Hokage never got to finish his sentence. Sasuke watched in quiet amusement as Naruto decided to speak up about their low point of view on their mission assignments.

"Hell no! Give us another old man Hokage! We have to deal with this bastard's tardiness every damn day only to be told to go on a stupid mission or have to spar against each other all day long because out teacher happens to be too lazy to actually teach. If it weren't for Sasuke helping Sakura and I out we wouldn't have learned a damn thing, and Sasuke only learns when he finds a new scroll and spends hours picking the instructions apart. Even then we don't know if he gets it right!

"We're not the same little brats you pat on the head and give a cookie to for being good! I'm not the same prankster you knew! Give us a mission worthy of our time!" Naruto plopped down onto the floor and crossed his arms over his chest, a blatant sign that he wasn't moving until the Hokage gave them a different mission. It was rather difficult not to laugh at the various expressions around the room. Several Chuunins were glaring at the blonde and Sasuke controlled his mirth by making sure each Chuunin felt his own glare in return. None seemed to be able to look him in the eye for more than a few seconds.

Iruka, who was sitting next to the Hokage, looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Kakashi was scratching his head in embarrassment. But the Third was only giving Naruto an intense look, as if trying to find out if the blonde was lying or not. The old man looked at Sakura and Sasuke as well, and Sasuke tried to convey with his eyes that their team was ready for whatever the Hokage gave them.

Iruka started in on a lecture of the different levels for ninja missions and why Genin were given the low ranked missions, but Sasuke didn't pay any attention. The trio all ready knew this information. Instead he watched the silent communication between the Hokage and Naruto. Sasuke had gotten to know the old man better since Naruto had moved in with him. After a week Naruto had gotten around to informing the Hokage about his new living arrangement. Sasuke had been visited by the Third on several occasions before the old man had been assured that the two boys were actually friends.

"Okay Naruto. I'll give you one C-rank mission." Iruka's explanation was cut short as the Hokage made his announcement. All the adults save Kakashi looked at the Hokage in surprise or shock. Kakashi just looked resigned.

"Thanks old man! What is it?" Naruto was still loud, but Sakura and Sasuke had been able to calm the blonde down a bit in the last month. When the Hokage called for someone to come in, the trio looked at the door the clients were admitted from, only to see a rather large drunk man leaning against the doorframe.

"Huh? They all look like brats to me - especially the super shrimp with the silly-looking face. Are you really a ninja? Eh?" Their first impression of their client was not the best. Naruto looked ready to jump the man until Sasuke placed a calming hand on his shoulder. The blonde took a few deep breaths and gave a small smile of thanks.

"Don't you know that good things come in small packages? I thought our elders were suppose to remind us about things like that, not the other way around." Sakura's indignant response brought a large grin to Naruto's face and Sasuke mentally thanked his female teammate.

"Now, now. We need to be polite to our client." Kakashi's lazy comment was met with three glares. Their teacher chuckled weakly until the three children had turned back to the client.

"I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna! I expect you to give super protection as I travel to my home country and build my bridge!" Sasuke had to restrain a snort at their client's demeanor. It was clear from the flushed cheeks and large sake jug the man held that Tazuna was at least slightly drunk.

Kakashi gave the trio instructions to pack and meet at the east gate in an hour. Then their Jounin teacher disappeared before they could gain more detail. _'Typical,'_ Sasuke thought as he turned to their drunken client. With his usual neutral tone he quizzed the bridge-builder on where they were going, how long it would take, what weather conditions could be expected and what kind of opposition they could expect. Sakura and Naruto stayed silent through the interrogation.

The only thing Tazuna had not explained in enough detail to satisfy Sasuke was about what kind of opponents Team Seven may have to face. The bridge-builder had given a rather vague answer about bandits and dodged further questions with the excuse he needed to get ready as well. The Hokage and Iruka were the only ones still paying attention to the trio as they made their plans.

A quick huddle later and it was agreed that for a three day journey they would need tents, especially with the dew and mist that was common for Wave Country. They would take two, as one of the three would have to be on watch at all times. Naruto and Sasuke would haul them to save Sakura some weight, but all three would carry the necessary food supplies, and make sure they had enough for Tazuna and Kakashi. Neither adult seemed trustworthy enough to have sufficient supplies and would probably complain if the children's supplies were better.

They needed efficient traps that would take the least amount of tools to actually carry. Naruto was given charge of that. Sakura would gather any current information about the area they were entering to insure Tazuna's information was accurate, and to see if there were any threats they could detect on their own.

Sasuke would gather the actual food supplies before the three met up at the Uchiha compound in forty minutes. They would distribute the packs and Sakura could inform them on the need for additional supplies then. Sasuke made sure Sakura knew to dress and pack in grays and muted blacks before the trio split up.

Naruto and Sasuke were still discussing traps and food supplies as they made their way out of the mission headquarters. Sasuke was pleased to note the dumbstruck look on Iruka's face and the proud smile the Hokage gave him as they left. It seemed the Hokage was happy with his decision to give them a C-rank mission. And maybe Iruka would stop lecturing them, or more specifically – Naruto – every time they met.

-Scene Break-

Sakura was worried about the information she had gathered about their current mission. It seemed fine on the surface but there were much darker themes attached to the information. The local newspapers of Wave Country reminded her of the _Daily Prophet_ where the only truth printed was what Fudge wanted, and that wasn't much. There were many reports about the Gatou shipping company and how well it was doing, but there was little else to report about the economy of the small country.

She didn't like how the crime levels and number of bandit attacks seemed to come and go at odd intervals. They weren't timed to weather or holidays and there were no trade fairs to speak of that would warrant a temporary bandit increase. The best she could stipulate was the corollaries to announcements of another Gatou success and the sudden drops in banditry. That would mean that this Gatou had something to do with the situation.

'_If that's true then this will be a harder mission than a simple escort,'_ Sakura thought to herself. She made a quick turn on the street for her house and stopped as she spotted Ino talking to her mother. _'Oh no. This isn't a good time.'_ Sakura only had twenty-five minutes to get her clothes, go over to the Uchiha estates, have everything packed and arrive at the east gates with her teammates.

Before she could consider turning around and sneaking through the back, her mother caught sight of her and called out. Ino spotter her in quick time and her pleasant face faded into an irritated one. _'I guess not spending as much time with her since becoming Genin has her a bit upset.'_

Sakura decided to face the music and hopefully Ino would understand the timetable she was under. She dashed up to the front door and quickly told her mother that she had another mission that would require her to travel to Wave Country. She would be gone for up to two months. Ignoring Ino's shocked look, she made sure her mother understood and then dragged Ino up to her bedroom so they could talk while she grabbed her things.

"Sakura! What is this? We get to be Genin, we become official rivals for a single day, go back to being friends and then you practically ignore me for almost three months! And now you're going to Wave Country for up to two? What's going on?" Ino was yelling by that time she finished and Sakura took a moment from packing to look Ino in the eye. She could see real hurt there and that made the younger girl very sorry. She decided the boys would forgive her if she let Ino know a few things – under an oath of secrecy of course.

"Ino… If I tell you a few things, will you promise not to tell anyone – not even your teammates? At least until I talk to mine about it, okay?" Ino looked at her strangely before giving her a nod. "Okay… first of all let me drop my henge." Ino looked at her in confusion before the blonde's face changed into shock when she saw Sakura's true appearance.

The younger girl was still dressed in a muted forest green, but sleeveless rather than the long-sleeved shirt she had started with. Her brown pants had changed into a pair of dark grey shorts.

Her hair was still a dark strawberry-blonde color but she had cut it short at Sasuke and Naruto's suggestion. As a ninja, having long hair was just asking for it to be used against you. Besides, in this life Sakura had only grown her hair out since Sasuke supposedly liked it long. According to her teammate, he actually didn't care one way or another. Hair was hair to him.

Her muscles were slightly more built, and her skin had started to tan. She was still Sakura but compared to the 'regular' her it was probably a bit of a difference. It took a moment to take in the change, but Sakura could tell the moment Ino had rational thought back. Before her friend could launch into another tirade, Sakura started to explain.

"I realized that the only reason I was becoming a ninja was to become closer to Sasuke. Remember that dream I had before the Genin Orientation. It was rather… disturbing and made me realize that if I wanted to be a ninja, I better do it because I want to be. I decided that I did and then made the choice to be a good ninja. Sasuke and Naruto have been helping me getting into shape and learning taijutsu.

"All three of us have changed a bit since we started, but we keep a henge on to keep people from noticing. It also helps increase our chakra supply. I could only hold henge for a few hours before becoming completely exhausted when we started. Now I can do it all day without breaking a sweat. I can even maintain the jutsu in my sleep if needed.

"The henge also lets others think we have bright colored clothing on, but when it comes time to hide we can drop the henge and blend better into our surroundings. It also helps that whoever is looking for us is looking for someone with bright clothes and light hair." Sakura smiled at Ino and waited for the questions.

"What did you do to your beautiful hair!?" Sakura forced the smile to stay on her face at the unexpected first question. _'Does that mean it doesn't look nice right now? I know it's different but, geeze.'_

"I cut it for one. As a ninja, long hair can be used against you. Just one grab and it can mess up your rhythm or balance in a fight. It can also be used like a chokehold. I really didn't like the thought of ripping my own hair out if someone had a hold on it, just to be able to get away. They could still do it now I guess, but they'd have to be closer to grab it.

"As for the color, Sasuke has this dye that darkens your natural hair color. You knew I highlighted my hair to get that light pink shade. But by doing so I was painting a target on my head screaming, 'I'm over here – hit me!' As well as darkening it, the dye dulls your hair to keep the sun from reflecting off of it. It's the same concept that makes us darken our blades to keep them from shining to betray your position." Ino seemed flabbergasted from Sakura's explanation and Sakura return to her packing as her friend thought of another question.

"So you dyed your hair because Sasuke-kun told you? I thought you were over him?" Ino sounded a bit betrayed and Sakura quickly spoke to reassure her.

"No. Sasuke suggested it and Naruto and I debated it with him and his argument won us over. I was kind of sad when I first saw it, but I've grown to like it. I think it makes me look a little older." She gave her friend a small smile over her shoulder before changing her shirt to a short-sleeve light gray one. "I've never told you a deliberate lie Ino. When I said I don't like Sasuke like that, I meant it. He seems more like an older brother than anything else now."

Ino didn't ask any more questions until Sakura finished packing. When the green-eyed girl looked at older friend she was surprised to see Ino getting teary-eyed. She panicked for a moment before Ino jumped forward and gave her a hug. Completely confused now, Sakura could only return it and wait for an explanation.

"You're hair does make you look older, Sakura. But it's not just your hair. You've grown. I wondered if I was always going to have to be looking out for you, but I'm glad your learning to take care of yourself… and that you have a big brother that can watch out for you too. I'm just sorry you don't need me anymore." Sakura blinked for a moment as she took in Ino's declaration. A big smile crept up on her as she tightened her friend's hug.

"I'll always need you Ino. But you're right – I can look out for myself now. And I don't just have one big brother; I've got two. Naruto can be annoying sometimes, but his heart is in the right place, and he's almost as good as Sasuke when fighting… He just needs to learn to think a bit more before acting.

"But you were my first friend, and I'm sorry I've been ignoring you this past month. You've always been there for me and you've helped me so much. When I get back I promise we'll hang out some more. Sasuke and Naruto aren't the best people to talk to about fashion and boys. And while I don't like Sasuke like that anymore… I do need to find someone else." The two girls stepped back from one another and grinned. Sakura was sorry she had to end their reconciliation so soon.

"I really do have to go Ino. Kakashi only gave us an hour warning and it's almost up. But, while I'm gone… maybe you can look out for a few prospect boyfriends for me – deal?"

Ino laughed and gave the younger girl another quick hug. "Deal Forehead-girl. Just make sure you get back here in one piece or none of the boys will want anything to do with you!" Sakura gave Ino a squawk of protest and soon the two were bickering once more as the younger girl grabbed her pack. She quickly henged into her 'normal' form and the two friends made their way to the Uchiha estates.

-Scene Break-

Naruto was really looking forward to the escort mission, even if old man Tazuna was a right asshole. It would be his first time outside of Konoha's walls and he couldn't wait to set up the traps he had planned out. Any bandits after their client would have a major surprise.

Sakura had arrived a little late, but luckily the three packed quicker than expected. Sasuke had opted for ration bars and a low amount of food supply rather than carrying a lot of extra bulk they could do without. Even then they still need to pack three meals a day for Tazuna as non-ninjas usually disliked ration bars and as a client they couldn't upset him too much. Naruto would also need more than one meal a day in addition to the bars, as he seemed to have a higher metabolism. Sasuke planned to forage for some of their food. He had a rough idea of what was available and had counted on Sakura's information gather skills to smooth out the rest of the details.

'_You can always count on Sakura. If it's written down she can find it,' _Naruto thought to himself. Sure enough Sakura had a list of general plant and wildlife memorized as well as the predicted weather patterns. They started on their way to the east gate in plenty of time and Sakura used the trip to inform the boys of the political and economical information she had gathered. Or rather – not gathered.

Naruto didn't understand most of it but he got the gist of it. The Wave Country didn't have a lord like the Fire Country did. Instead it was a loose rule by a council made up of the heads of each village. The country was made up of a dozen or so fisherman villages and a few farming communities farther inland. There wasn't enough produced to feed everyone and but they sold fish to other countries in order to buy more farm food.

At least, that was how it was suppose to go. Naruto completely understood the fact the newspapers were printing lies. He seen enough of the Daily Prophet and 'Harry Potter reporting' that it didn't need to be explained to him. Sakura voiced her suspicions that Gatou, owner of the Gatou shipping company was behind most, if not all of the cover up. When Naruto wondered out loud what it had to do with their mission Sakura tried to explain it to him in simple terms.

Gatou used ships to move what the fishermen caught to other countries. He also transported people across the large river separating Wave country from Fire Country. No one else used ships and that made Gatou really rich. If Sakura was right, 'bandits' quickly killed anyone that tried to go against Gatou. She didn't need to explain that Gatou probably hired the so-called bandits.

"It still doesn't explain why we need to know about him. We're just taking old man Tazuna and watching him while he builds his bridge." Naruto was still confused. Gatou sounded like bad news and he wanted to do something about him, but couldn't figure out why Sakura was so concerned. Maybe it was like the SPEW thing and she just wanted to help out.

"Because. Tazuna is making a bridge. With a bridge people don't need ships." Sasuke still preferred to speak as little as possible unless necessary. He opened up a bit more when the three were inside the Uchiha estates, but whenever they ventured outside he seemed to put up an indifferent shield. He was still friendlier than before they became Genin, but Naruto's prediction of another sixth year was proving to be true. It would take a long while to get Sasuke to open up in public.

Then the meaning behind the Uchiha's short words sunk in. "Oh! Shit. That means we might be fighting bandits all the time, won't we?"

Sakura shook her head a little. "I doubt he'd send bandits more than once or twice. Once he finds out that Tazuna hired ninjas Gatou will hire one of his own, or several depending on how much of a threat he sees us as and how much he's willing to spend."

Naruto grimaced at that thought. If it was another Genin team he figured they could win, but if it was against another Jounin… Well, hopefully Kakashi wouldn't be a total irresponsible bastard on this mission. "So we'll need to keep our eyes pealed and our senses on high, right."

Sasuke nodded. "Right. If Gatou has a good information source he might already know Tazuna hired ninjas. That means we might not get a band of bandits first but go right to the hard stuff. Naruto and I can probably sense a Chuunin or below. Sakura, are you still having trouble when extending your senses for an extended amount of time?" The female member of Team Seven gave an embarrassed yes. "Then we'll keep you in reserve for when a fight breaks out. You can pinpoint anyone in hiding for us."

"Sakura should probably stay closest to Tazuna as we travel. She's gotten a lot better but would do better as backup or defense. I should probably be the first one to go in a fight with my heightened healing. If they surprise us with something lethal I'm the most likely one to survive. And Sasuke's always been the best fighter on the go. It'll give him a chance to see what we're up against before making any plans."

Sasuke gave only a slight nod in response. They were closing in on the gate and the trio didn't see Kakashi or the client anywhere. They leaned against the wall and waited in silence, Naruto fidgeting now and again.

He really hated waiting quietly, but Sasuke and Sakura had made it clear they would take drastic measures if he babbled at them like he did the first week. He shivered in remembrance. As scary as Sasuke's Snape-glare was, Sakura was worse when she was caught up in a rage. Besides, knowing there were two people that would be there for him whenever he needed them helped him keep the loneliness at by. He didn't feel the need to fill the silence lately, even if the urge was still there. But when the two absent from their party showed fifteen-minutes later Naruto was more than ready to leave.

-Scene Break-

Only a few hours out Sasuke spotted a large puddle in the middle of the road that emitted a chakra source. He exchanged glances with Naruto who confirmed his suspicions. With a quiet signal to Sakura the three watched careful for any signs of attack. Since Kakashi was ignoring it, they didn't go on the offense right away. While Kanton jutsus were the most commonly known in Fire Country, it didn't mean that a border guard couldn't be hiding with Suiton jutsu.

But just in case their teacher was being stupid again they didn't drop their guard. Sure enough - it was an attack. The two ninja quickly dispatched Kakashi, and even though Sasuke had noticed the kawamari he didn't count on their teacher to do much. They attacked Naruto next, but the blonde used kage bushin and was fighting their enemies three on one. Sasuke used an opening to toss a few kunai and trapped the two ninja's connecting chain to a nearby tree.

Naruto was able to knock one out in the split second that maneuver gave them. The second, however, released his chain and charged Tazuna. Sasuke intercepted him, but before he could fight Kakashi dashed in and knocked the ninja out with a single blow. Sasuke snorted to himself before looking to Sakura for confirmation that all enemies were accounted for. The girl may have trouble maintaining her senses on high, but when she did she could pick up more than the two boys. She nodded and the Uchiha-heir relaxed his fighting stance and settled for glaring at his Jounin instructor.

Their lazy teacher scratched the back of his head and told the two boys that they had done well before tying the two unconscious ninjas up to a nearby tree. They learned from Kakashi that these two were the infamous Demon Brothers and were known missing-nins of Chuunin level from Hidden Mist Village. 

The Jounin apologized for not fighting sooner but he explained that he wanted to make sure their target was Tazuna before taking them out. Team Seven rolled their eyes - they hadn't expected their teacher to be helpful anyways.

Sasuke considered the attack a good thing, as the questions Tazuna had been avoiding were answered after the Demon Brother's attempt. It seemed Sakura was correct about the Gatou Company and that there was indeed a price on Tazuna's head. When Kakashi had suggested turning back as this was a much higher rank mission than C-class, the entire team had given him an irrevocable 'no'.

There were no other attacks that day and at dusk Kakashi gave the order to make camp. When their teacher had suggested a spot right next to the road Naruto had told him off for being an idiot. Anyone could spot them there. Sasuke had agreed and sent Sakura and Naruto out to scout for a campsite while he kept an eye on Tazuna.

When his blonde teammate had come back with a good position Sasuke gave a popinjay whistle to let Sakura know to return. Kakashi stayed silent as he read his book but the Uchiha heir had noticed the teacher giving them sidelong glances as Team Seven set up camp. Naruto set up the traps while Sasuke foraged for food. Tazuna had wanted a fire but Sakura talked him out of it by reciting various incidents of how the smoke and light of a fire had killed ninja teams in the past. She gave rather gruesome details.

Tazuna was the first to fall asleep and Kakashi told them they should head to bed as well. "Hn," Sasuke agreed. "Naruto, you take first watch. You still haven't learned to be alert right after waking up. I'll take second and Sakura will take third." Sasuke received nods from each of his teammates but their Jounin instructor stopped them from carrying out their plan.

"I don't think that's necessary. You three go to sleep and I'll keep watch. Don't worry about it." The trio glared at him.

"Kakashi. We are ninja – low ranked ones but still ninja. If you want to keep watch and loose that much sleep, please do. But we need to learn to do so as well." Sakura's voice sounded strained as she tried to be polite. Sasuke decided it was better she had spoken since the two boys wouldn't have been quite as nice.

"Ah. But I'm your teacher and I think you don't need to keep watch just yet. Go to bed guys."

"No." Their teacher seemed surprised at Sasuke's outright defiance.

"That was an order Sasuke." Before the dark-haired teen could respond, Naruto beat him to the punch.

"We don't care! You give stupid orders. How many times do we have to tell you? We're ninja. If we were at war right now we'd probably be dead ninja. If Sakura weren't so damn good at research we'd be stupid ninja. If Sasuke didn't have extra training as a kid we'd be weak ninja. How the hell are we suppose to be good ninja with an idiot for a teacher!?" Sasuke decided to cut Naruto off before his comments would do more harm than good.

"We don't care if you're lazy, irresponsible, a pervert or all three. We don't care if we have to train ourselves. We've been doing it all our lives in one way or another. We don't care if we can't trust what you say as you've never given us a reason to. We can over come that by working with each other. But not being able to trust a comrade while in the safety of the village is one thing. Not being able to trust you while in enemy territory is another.

"That's why we won't stand down tonight. We don't trust you to keep watch. You might protect Tazuna – it's your job. But you've never given any indication you care what happens to us. If you did you'd have been preparing us for tough missions like this. We'll count on ourselves and hope we don't run into any enemy Jounins. They're the only enemy we know for certain that we can't handle alone. And we can't count on you to be there to back us up." Sasuke kept his voice neutral and even.

Kakashi seemed rather shocked by what they said but when he was about to respond Sakura added her two bits in. "Don't even try to rationalize your behavior to us. We don't want to hear it. We won't believe it. We've had enough lame excuses and empty reassurances. Think about what we said and show us that we can trust you if you want our opinion to change."

The trio had left their instructor alone and went about their watch schedule. Since that night Kakashi hadn't spoken much to them save the small amount of orders he had to give. They were all reasonable and none of Team Seven gave any indication to Tazuna that there had been a rift between teacher and students.

Nothing else occurred until the last day of traveling. The five had crossed the river in a small fishing boat only twenty minutes ago. They had nearly a half hour left to walk. Naruto was annoying 'old man Tazuna' as had been his habit since the Demon Brother incident. It seemed the blonde had taken offense to Tazuna hiding information from them, even though Sakura had found it out before they left Konoha.

Currently, Naruto was boasting about how good he could aim his kunai and proceeded to demonstrate when Tazuna made a show of disbelieve. Sasuke shook his head when they heard the death cry of a rabbit. Naruto had proven his point, but such a noise was sure to attract unwanted attention. Still, at least they'd been in a house where they could cook tonight. The Uchiha heir had missed fresh meat. Jerky didn't taste nearly as good after three days.

Being the closest, he had started over to collect his teammates kill, but stopped when he caught sight of it. _'A white snowshoe rabbit when they should be brown this time of year...' _Sasuke hadn't even finished the thought before he was calling out to Sakura, "Head count!" It was a command that an enemy would have to take a moment to understand but was quick to use. Yet, Sakura didn't have time to obey as Kakashi shouted his own command.

"Down!" To their credit, Team Seven didn't even hesitate. Naruto pulled Tazuna down with him and they hit the ground just in time to feel something heavy and sharp cut across the air above them. It was a sword, a zanbatou, and it had slammed into a tree with enough force to cut almost halfway through it.

"North-North-East, one! South-south-west, one! Jounin!" That was Sakura's delayed head count, but it let Sasuke quickly locate their opponents. One looked like he had been the one that threw the sword: a tall muscular man with no eyebrows and bandages wrapped around his lower face, similar to Kakashi's mask. He tried to find the second Sakura had sensed, but saw nothing in the area.

Naruto threw a handful of shuriken to flush out the second enemy but nothing stirred. Sakura shook her head when they turned to her, indicating that whoever had been there was now hidden enough to escape her senses.

Sasuke gave a quiet hand signal to tell her to continue searching and she nodded in acknowledgement. Tazuna had risen to his feet and she moved closer to his side, a kunai held loosely in one hand while the other hovered over her thigh utility-pack to maximize her options of defense.

The tall man had taken the opportunity to retrieve his sword. It flew into his hand, seemingly by itself. Sasuke hadn't felt any stirring of magical energy but the only way he could have figured to do that was to use a wand-less spell. He wondered how ninjas could summon objects using chakra instead of magic and made a mental note to research it when they returned to Konoha.

When Kakashi moved forward to confront the tall man, the boys moved into loose flanking positions around their client. They waited to see what their teacher would do before acting. It came as no surprise when Kakashi called out to their opponent by name. If the Jounin had known who the Demon Brothers were, he probably knew who the two Chuunins would likely work with. Sasuke just wished their teacher had shared that information with his team.

When Kakashi raised his forehead protector to use his sharingan, Sasuke felt his heartbeat increase. He would finally be able to see his bloodline in action. It was too much to hope that Kakashi would help him activate his own, but he welcomed the chance to actually witness what the sharingan could do in combat. All he had ever done was read about it and catch a few glimpses of his brother training with it.

Zabuza had thickened the fog surrounding the team and Sasuke and Naruto started to move in closer to Tazuna even as Kakashi gave them the order to protect their client. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the needless order and tried to pay attention to his surroundings.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Naruto signal that he had semi-transformed. The trio had discovered that Naruto could stay in a partial animagus transformed state without any harm. The benefits were heightened sense of smell, hearing and sight. It even seemed to give the blonde a boost at sensing opponent's chakra. And by using a henge all the time the physical aspects were well hidden.

Sasuke started to watch the blonde more than his surroundings. Chances were Naruto would catch sight of Zabuza before the Uchiha could. An immense feeling of oppression and terror distracted him for a moment. It reminded him of how if felt to face down a Death Eater or Voldemort himself for the first time.

They had learned from Dumbledore that wizards could expand their magical aura around themselves and project feelings of hate and fear. While courage was helpful to combat the effects, the best way to dispel the feeling was to surround yourself with your own magic aura. Experienced Aurors did so twenty-four/seven to avoid loosing the split second it took to dispel an enemy's energy. The side benefit of the Auror radiating a sense of authority and power helped when dealing with civilians.

The trio had quickly learned to do so as well. It was how Sasuke had first discovered his slight skill in wand-less magic; a skill the trio had never told anyone about. According to Sakura no one had ever been able to wield magic without a wand. It had been his trump card against Voldemort.

'_This must be the same technique but using chakra instead,' _Sasuke thought. He wasn't sure how to surround himself with chakra like he did with magic. As he was currently surrounded by a small amount of chakra due to his henge, he decided to pour more chakra into the jutsu to try and block the killing intent he felt. It worked well. He hoped Sakura and Naruto had as little trouble dealing with it as he did.

Movement from Naruto warned Sasuke a split second before the enemy attacked. The blonde had knocked Sakura and Tazuna down once more and Sasuke followed his teammate's example. He was still falling to the ground when Zabuza appeared in the small space between Sasuke and Tazuna. The large zanbatou was leveled with what would have been Tazuna's mid-section. Silently thanking his teammate's senses he threw a kunai at Zabuza's back.

The man dodged it but before the enemy could make another offensive strike Kakashi was behind him. Sasuke watched as first Zabuza turned out to be a Mizu-bushin and then Kakashi as well. After the first two it didn't surprise him that the second Zabuza was also a Mizu-bushin. The trio reformed their defensive positions around the bridge builder as the two Jounin fought.

"Any sign of the second Jounin?" Sasuke quietly asked Sakura while the Genin were being ignored. Sakura shook her head slightly, never taking her eyes off the surrounding woods. Sasuke nodded to Naruto and the three could hear slight 'puffs' of air as the shuriken Naruto had thrown earlier transformed into Naruto-bushins.

With the second problem being taken care of as much as they could, Sasuke turned his full attention back to the two Jounin – just in time to see Kakashi get captured. The famous 'Copy-cat Ninja' looked surprised and then turned horrified eyes towards Sasuke. The dark-haired boy decided that Kakashi really hadn't meant to be captured, but it didn't help them now. Zabuza created a Mizu-bushin with a one-handed seal that surprised the Uchiha heir, but shoving the fact to the back of his mind Sasuke tried to analyze the situation.

"Naruto?"

"No good. Whoever's hiding has picked off three clones using senbon. The other two are still looking but can't see anything. Either it's an ally of Zabuza's or just a nosy ninja that wants to watch the fight. I'm guessing number one. Our luck doesn't work out well enough to be number two."

"Any ideas Sakura?"

"Wand-less shield around Tazuna while we try to break the prison jutsu to free Kakashi. Even if we defeat this guy we have to worry about the unknown Jounin. Best to have our Jounin available."

"I have an idea," Naruto piped up, loud enough for the enemy to hear.

"Wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninjas… But you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Basically, once you're good enough to be listed in my handbook then you can start calling yourself a ninja. Guys like you-" Kakashi didn't allow Zabuza to finish his lecture.

"Sasuke! Take Tazuna and run away! You have no chance against him! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this water prison, he can't move! The Mizu-bushin shouldn't be able to go very far from his real body. Just run away now!" The dark-haired boy snorted at the order. Even if they could escape the Mizu-bushin, there was still another Jounin to worry about. He watched Naruto dig into his pack and take out a shadow shuriken. Sasuke smiled in understanding.

"So everything you've told us really was a lie? We knew you were a lazy bastard Kakashi, but we didn't think you were a total idiot. What was all that crap about ninjas disobeying the rules were trash, but abandoning a teammate made you worse than trash? Bloody hell, but you're a messed up Jounin!" Naruto's comment was a bit more colorful than Sasuke liked, but it echoed his own thoughts.

Before either Jounin could comment, Sasuke grabbed the shadow shuriken from his teammate and dashed forward slightly before throwing. The Mizu-bushin laughed as the shuriken passed him by without it even having to dodge. Even when the shuriken's true target was revealed to be the real Zabuza, the Devil of the Mist only laughed harder as he caught the weapon.

His laughter was cut off as another shuriken flew out of the shadow of the first. But after Zabuza's initial surprise the missing-nin only jumped over the shuriken as it made a low pass. The Devil started to smirk at the Genins when a soft puff was heard behind him. Sasuke watched in amusement as the second shuriken transformed into a Naruto-bushin that threw a kunai at their opponent's head. The Jounin had a split second to turn, see the attack and dodge out of the way.

Of course, this was a Jounin and Zabuza was able to accomplish it with only a slight scratch on his cheek for his troubles. The self-proclaimed devil spun around, a mad glint in his eye. He went to throw the shadow shuriken he still had at the Naruto-bushin only to have the blonde disappear in a cloud of smoke. When the enemy spun around to face the trio again, he was met with the angry face of Kakashi.

"I'll tell you now that I don't fall for the same jutsu twice. What will you do?" The two opponents stared at one another before Zabuza made the first move and threw the shadow shuriken at their instructor. The fight was renewed.

Sasuke kept one eye on the two Jounin, noting the imitation ability the sharingan seemed to have. Nothing he had read indicated this ability, but not everything was written down. The second eye was on his teammates. He had raised the wand-less shield as Sakura had suggested, but it was made for curses and hexes more than physical projectiles. It would block an initial attack, but wouldn't be very useful for more than that unless he put a lot more energy into it.

"My last two bushins have been destroyed. They never caught a glimpse of the attacker. Do you sense anything Sakura?"

"Nothing. The amount of chakra Kakashi and Zabuza are gathering isn't helping." She paused as if she was going to add something more before her eyes widened. "Jump!" There was no hesitation. Naruto and Sasuke each grab one of Tazuna's arms and jumped into a nearby tree branch large enough to support them. Sakura was standing on another branch nearby.

Sakura's warning was just in time. They watched the huge wave of chakra powered water slam into Zabuza and flood the surrounding area. In hindsight Team Seven wouldn't have been harmed if they had stayed in the previous position, but they would have been very wet.

As they watched Zabuza slam into a tree several meters away, Sasuke asked Naruto to check out the situation. With a quick hand seal Naruto had another kage bushin to command, this one with the slight fox-like characteristics and camouflaged clothes Naruto would have displayed if he hadn't currently been under henge. Naruto had the bushin henge as well before sending it over towards Kakashi.

The Naruto-bushin had barely started off when Sakura gasped. "Second Jounin. In the tree – 10 o'clock."

Kakashi was currently crouched on the branch above Zabuza and Sasuke didn't know if the Jounin had sensed their second opponent. Straining from the distance and lack of recent use, the Uchiha heir placed the strongest wand-less barrier he could around their teacher. Sweat poured down his brow as he held the semi-transparent shield together.

The blue shimmer of the shield must have caught Kakashi's attention for he cocked his head to his right in study. Then he must have caught sight of the second Jounin for he turned fully to face the second figure just in time to have two senbon thrown his way. Time seemed to crawl as Sasuke watched two senbons fly towards their teacher's position. As they pierced the neck of Zabuza Sasuke gave a mental sigh of relief but did not drop the barrier.

He growled under his breath as Kakashi jumped down from his position to check Zabuza's pulse and forcefully pulled the barrier after his thoughtless teacher. Naruto relayed their instructor's comment that Zabuza was dead along with the now identified hunter-nin's response.

Sasuke still felt that something was off in the situation and kept the barrier between the hunter-nin and Kakashi. He hoped something would happen soon as his vision started to tunnel in on his teacher. If he didn't drop the barrier in the next few minutes he'd pass out from exhaustion.

Luckily the hunter-nin chose that time to pick up Zabuza and disappear. Sakura made the comment that she felt him move off to the south before loosing him and Sasuke let himself release the barrier.

He realized he was kneeling on the tree branch and Naruto had draped Sasuke's arm around his neck to steady the dark-haired teen. The Uchiha didn't have the energy to protest. Naruto's bushin came back and took the real Naruto's spot as Sasuke's crutch and the dark-haired boy grunted in thanks before glaring at his friend when the bushin picked him up and started jumping towards their instructor.

It wasn't a long trip and when they arrived Sasuke glared at his teacher and dared the man to say anything. Wisely Kakashi didn't mention the bushin that was setting him down. When the boy tried to step away on his own, his knees collapsed under him and only a quick save by the Naruto-bushin kept him from falling flat on his face. Kakashi looked at him in concern but didn't make a move towards him.

Naruto had made a second clone and the two landed with Tazuna between them. Sakura was right behind scanning the Southern tree line for any threats. "You three did an excellent job, but our mission isn't over yet. We have to get Tazuna-san back to his home." The cheerful tone of voice grated on Sasuke's nerves but before he could complain Kakashi started off in the direction that had been traveling before this all began.

The Jounin teacher didn't take more than two steps before he collapsed. Thinking the worse Sasuke leapt forward to catch his teacher, forgetting about his own exhaustion. He was able to break the larger man's fall, but it left him trapped beneath his teacher. Naruto, or one of his clones, helped him out from under the Jounin and Sakura checked on their teacher.

"It wasn't an attack, at least that I could see. I think he collapsed from exhaustion, like you're going to if you don't stop jumping about." She was in mother-hen mode and could rival Madame Pomfrey if not obeyed immediately. Sasuke sighed aloud and shook his head.

"I'll behave. We should move out now just in case. I still feel like I'm missing something but I can't think straight." The dark-haired teen didn't get to continue before Sakura interrupted.

"Don't think. That barrier not only tasked your power reserve but you mental facilities as well. You need to rest you mind as well as you body to regain you strength."

"I can't-" His protest was cut off by his other teammate.

"Don't worry Sasuke. We've got it covered for now. Even when I couldn't see that hunter-nin I could still smell him. I just couldn't figure out where he was. His scent is gone and I'll make sure to keep a look out for it. My kage bushin is going to carry you the rest of the way whether you like it or not, so I suggest you shut up before we have to knock you out." Naruto had a huge fox-grin on his face, but Sasuke knew he was completely serious.

He nodded in compliance before being picked up by the same kage-bushin that had carried him down from the tree… at least he thought it was. Naruto conjured up a third bushin and had him help the second bushin with the unconscious Jounin instructor. Tazuna hadn't said a word during the whole fight and Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the man when he caught his gaze.

"Are you all right Tazuna-san?" Sakura and Naruto had been discussing strategies, but fell silent at Sasuke's quiet question. Tazuna seemed taken aback before regaining composure.

He gave a loud cough and loudly proclaimed, "Why of course I am! You brats did a super good job of protecting the super great bridge builder of Wave Country." He lowered his voice a little before continuing. "Next time, just do a quicker job of it. I'm not paying you to slouch off!" Sasuke would have killed the man if he had any energy until he noticed the old man winking at him before turning to an irate Naruto.

Tazuna and the blonde started arguing back and forth about respecting elders and being nice to the 'damn ninja that save your worthless ass.' Sakura just shook her head before smacking Naruto upside the head. A quick heated discussion between teammates later and Naruto was back to arguing with the bridge builder as the team started on the way again. Sasuke tried to stay alert and watch for danger despite his teammates threats, but ended up drifting off to the sound of playful banter between an old man and a young Genin accompanied by Sakura's soft laughter.


	5. Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

As Sakura helped Naruto settle Kakashi and Sasuke in the guest bedroom at Tazuna's, she wondered what they should do next. Both ninjas were sleeping soundly and while she didn't know when the Jounin would wake up, Sasuke would only stay down for an hour or so more. Then she would have to watch him to make sure he didn't over do it. Harry was never known for resting when he needed to and Sasuke continued the tradition.

"I'm going to talk to the old man about what paths around the house should stay clear and then trap the rest. If we only have to watch for one or two entrances it'll make it easier for us. With the little kid around I can't set any lethal ones, but I'll make them noisy and troublesome to buy us a bit of time and give us some warning." Sakura nodded in agreement and watched her blond teammate leave the room.

Tazuna had introduced them to his daughter Tsunami and her son Inari. The boy wasn't more than seven and didn't seem to like them very much. He hadn't said anything but the glare he leveled at the Konoha ninjas was indication enough. Tsunami, on the other hand, seemed very happy to see them and her father safe. The kind lady had fussed over the unconscious forms of Kakashi and Sasuke until Sakura had pointed out the need for a room to lay them down in.

The guest bedroom would be a little cramped with four people, but if they left one person on watch at all times it would be a comfortable fit for three bed rolls. Sakura started unrolling the third bedroll and took an inventory of what they had left. Even though Kakashi had brought his own, Sakura and Sasuke had decided to eat two small meals a day than just one large. There were still six ration bars and enough weapons for a few shuriken and nine kunais each. Hopefully Kakashi had enough of his own weapons.

When she headed downstairs to talk with Tsunami she could hear Tazuna arguing with Naruto over the need for traps or not. Knowing that their arguments could go on forever and still never come to an agreement, the kunoichi decided to lend her teammate a hand.

"Damn it old man! You hired us to keep you safe. You want to be safe? You have to sacrifice something. You can't just go where the hell you want and do whatever you want, whenever you want. There has to be at least a little bit of security around your house and you have to have an escort when you leave the property. There's no ifs, ands, or buts!"

"Your instructor stated that there shouldn't be anymore problems for a while and until he wakes up I'm going to trust his opinion. He has super more experience than a brat like you."

Sakura decided that was a perfect opportunity to slip in. "He may have more experience than us, but he isn't in a position to advise you. I believe he said we shouldn't have any more troubles getting you home. He was correct. Now that we're here we could be in danger once more." Naruto had a grateful look on his face as Tazuna looked at her in irritation.

"Look at it this way Tazuna. Whether you actually stay in the house or not, whether we escort you or not; by letting Naruto lay his traps you will have the bonus of protecting your family as well as yourself. Our contract was only to protect you. But with someone like Gatou there can be no guarantee that he won't go after your family in order to convince you to stop your construction on the bridge. With only a single trap-free entrance and exit the potential for an ambush by Gatou's thugs will be decreased exponentially.

"Despite what you might say about him, Naruto is an expert at trap building. He can take well-known traps and tweak them in such a way that most ninjas will never suspect them. I'm sure he's explained that we've taken in account of your grandson. While he should be warned not to venture into the woods, if he does the traps will be non-lethal. They'll create a lot of noise to warn us and keep enemies busy long enough for us to act."

Tazuna looked at her in disbelief at the fact that Naruto was an expert at anything, but her words seemed to make him think for a moment. Sakura signaled Naruto to stay silent when it looked like he wanted to add something. The girl noticed Tsunami watching from the kitchen doorway and sensed Inari listening from the second floor. She wondered if Tazuna noticed his daughter's worried face or could feel Inari's fluctuating emotions.

The bridge-builder must have realized something, for the old man straightened himself up and gave her a wink before turning to Naruto. "The girl talks sense, unlike your mindless yelling. I still don't think you can do as well as she claims but you can try. The main road to town is what we need clear and the dock on the riverside as well. Don't know what you can do about someone that swims up the bank but go ahead and do what you like. I'll believe it when I see it shrimp."

Naruto was torn between happiness that Tazuna finally agreed and irritation at all of the bridge-builder's insults. He settled on haughty indifference, but Sakura didn't think he pulled it off that well. "Ha! Just you wait old man. You'll see what a real ninja is! I'll have to trap the dock as well, but you'll be able to get to it if you have one of us along. The main road will be clear, but remember: a single wrong step in the grass might leave you stranded in a pit or strung up by your feet. You'll see!"

She watched the blonde go and told Tazuna that Naruto wasn't joking about a misstep in the grass. Ninja traps would not be seen whether they were set in the woods or in a field of low-cut grass. When Tazuna agreed to not venture off the paths, Sakura went on into the kitchen and started to ask Tsunami about meals and the cost of food supplies in the city.

The older woman was reluctant to talk about prices and wanted to waive off any ideas of paying for meals while the ninja's stayed. When Sakura mentioned that they would have to buy supplies for the trip back Tsunami caved in.

While she had known that the economy would be low, she was had pressed to hide her shock at the prices of poor vegetables and old jerky. Fish prices were at an all time low, but everything else was costly and rare. With how uncomfortable the bridge-builder's daughter was with the current topic, Sakura decided to change the conversation. They were criticizing the local fashions when Sasuke stumbled down the stairs.

"Sasuke! You know you shouldn't be out of bed yet! You've barely been out an hour." The dark-haired teen waived off Sakura's concerns and took a seat at the table next to her. "There hasn't been anything new since you drifted off. We arrived with little trouble and got you two settled in the guest bedroom where we'll be staying. Naruto left around forty-five minutes ago to trap the area. The only clear area will be the main road to the village. Kakashi hasn't given any indication as to when he'll be up."

Sasuke nodded and gave a pointed look to Tsunami who was watching the Uchiha in curiosity. "Oh! This is Tsunami. She's Tazuna's daughter. She has a son, seven or so, named Inari. They both live with our client."

"It's nice to meet you Sasuke-kun. They haven't given me any details about what you've been through to get my father here, but I'm grateful for you and your teammates." The woman gave a short bow to him, and Sasuke accepted it with a short 'Hn'. It was obvious to Sakura that he was awake on will power alone.

"Ms. Tsunami. Do you have something hot for Sasuke to eat? I'll help wake him up and we've been eating trail rations for a few days so he might appreciate it." Sasuke glared at her but thanked Tsunami in a semi-pleasant tone when the woman started to dish up some rice she had made for dinner and some fried fish.

Sakura also received a serving and while she had not planned on it she was grateful for some real food. They were halfway thru when Naruto came in and announced that the traps were set. Tsunami thanked him and gave him his own dish. The blonde began babbling in happiness about home-cooked meals and how wonderful Tsunami-chan must be to create such a masterpiece. Sakura hid her snickers behind her hand. The older woman seemed touched by Naruto's loud exclamations.

They finished dinner before Tazuna and Inari arrived. Sakura made their excuses to Tsunami, explaining that they needed to check on their teacher and regroup now that Sasuke was awake. As the trio was going up the stairs they passed Inari. They didn't expect him to start yelling at them for being stupid. "No matter how strong you think you are, you'll never defeat Gatou!"

No one could respond before the boy ran off to the kitchen. The three friends exchanged looks but shrugged it off as a problem they could solve later. High priority was to protect Tazuna. Changing the mind of a little boy could be listed at the end of their objectives.

-Scene Break-

Kakashi had woken up a few hours after the trio had eaten dinner. It was almost dusk and Naruto had been about to take first watch. Sasuke voiced his thought that something hadn't been right about the hunter-nin. Kakashi didn't think about it too long before telling them that he suspected the hunter-nin to be an ally of Zabuza's. Hunter-nins usually disposed of bodies at the sight of death. They only need the head to confirm the kill, but this hunter-nin had taken the whole body.

The senbon that struck Zabuza's neck had hit a pressure point to place the body in a temporary state of death. It slows the heart rate down to the point that you wouldn't feel a pulse when checking. The good news is that Zabuza had been fairly weak when that pressure point was hit. He would probably be out a week recovering. Kakashi thought he would only need a week as well. "During that week we can train you three so you're prepared the next time we see them."

"If they know about your exhaustion as well the hunter-nin will probably come back for an easy kill while our guard is down. We'll need to keep an eye out for him despite the unlikely return of Zabuza anytime soon." Sasuke truly disliked how easy Kakashi seemed to take serious matters. It was like their teacher looked at the obvious solution and overlooked the various ways it could go wrong.

"True, true. The hunter-nin didn't seem like the proactive type but I could be wrong." Kakashi didn't sound like he thought he was, but seemed willing to let Sasuke have his point.

"We don't know if there are any other ninja hired by Gatou either. He could also send some of his common thugs to keep us weak while his own ninjas recovered." Sakura was in her thinking pose again, right index finger tapping in time to her thoughts against her chin.

"Another good point Sakura. What do you two propose to do?"

"All THREE of us plan to take watch for eight hours each save a three-hour rotation for the first night. I'm taking first, then Sakura and Sasuke will take the last shift. In the morning I'll have watch again with Sakura in the after noon and Sasuke at night. I've trapped the area for incoming ninjas but it won't fool a Jounin. I had to leave some paths for us to move in and out of the area besides the main road even if Tazuna and his family can't use them. Sakura and Sasuke already know the safe paths. When you're better we'll show you." Sasuke nodded in approval at Naruto's explanation. The blonde was learning to hold back his temper more and more.

"Ah. I guess we'll have to train in groups of two then. I'll train Sasuke and Sakura in the morning and Sasuke can show you what to do in the afternoon. I'll just get some sleep tonight. It's good that you're not letting your guard down, but I doubt we'll see any action for another week."

Sasuke didn't bother arguing but waved Naruto good-bye as Sakura gave him a soft 'good luck'. It seemed the Uchiha-heir had just fallen asleep when Sakura woke him up. He left through the window to take up position on the roof. It was a long two hours before he heard someone stirring in the house. He jumped down to the ground and made his way to the front door.

Tsunami greeted him cheerfully and Sasuke tried to be polite while staying silent. The woman didn't seem to mind as went about fixing breakfast. Tazuna was next and grunted at Sasuke before sipping his tea. It seemed to wake the old man up, but he stayed silent as he watched his daughter work.

Kakashi came down the stairs with Sakura walking behind him. He was using a pair of crutches, but Sasuke didn't know where they came from. Both gave him a cheerful 'good morning' as they sat at the table. Kakashi started to discuss the current situation to Tazuna as Sasuke started up the stairs to make sure Naruto woke up. The blonde could sleep through an earthquake and never know it.

When all three had finished breakfast, Tazuna started out the door for the bridge. Naruto yelled at him to wait up and scrambled up the stairs for his gear. They could hear him jump from the window and chase after their client, yelling obscenities and insults the entire time.

Sasuke listened to Sakura laughing and resisted the urge to join in. As their Jounin teacher hurried them outside Sasuke wondered why Inari hadn't joined them. The two teens had to instruct Kakashi about the safe paths through Naruto's traps that would allow him through with his crutches. Luckily he seemed pretty agile despite them. It wasn't long before they found a nice clearing in the woods to let them practice.

"One thing you need to work on is your chakra control. You may know some jutsus, but as Genin you do them incorrectly. That is, each time you use a jutsu, you waste chakra. In order to learn better chakra control I'm going to teach you an exercise. When you're able to do this you'll have the potential to learn any technique you want."

Sasuke snorted at the explanation of chakra and jutsus. The trio had discovered this earlier when Asuma showed them how to tree-climb. They may still have a small amount of chakra waste, but if they did Sasuke couldn't tell. Naruto was the only one that they could sense a problem with and he had improved a lot since beginning.

"What kind of chakra control exercise is it?" The Uchiha realized he should have asked instead of mentally berating their teacher. At least Kakashi seemed to be willing to teach them something.

"Tree-climbing without your hands." The Jounin looked extremely happy and Sasuke could only guess that he was waiting for a reaction of surprise or confusion. The trio certainly hadn't known what Asuma was talking about when he first introduced the idea.

"We already know that skill." Short and to the point, Sasuke was still happy to see Kakashi's smile replaced by a look of bewilderment.

"Really? How'd you learn that?"

"We saw a few other Genin's working on it and asked them how. We've been practicing tree-climbing for three weeks after you've let us go from sparring." Sakura gave him the answer the three had agreed upon earlier. It wouldn't be wise to tell on Asuma after all the help the Jounin had been.

"Ah. That's rather good. Does Naruto know as well?" Kakashi seemed to be having a great deal of trouble hiding his surprise at the simple fact that the trio knew how to tree-climb. Sasuke wondered if it was a side effect of chakra exhaustion.

"He does. We practice our physical skills as a team so we know what the others are capable of. We'll need to know how the others react when we're in a real situation like this one." Sasuke let Sakura explain. She was good at that.

"I see. Will you two demonstrate?" They glanced at each other before nodded in agreement. Sasuke walked up to a tree and started walking. Sakura kept his pace on a tree within his peripheral vision. He reached the lowest branch fifteen feet up and started walking upside down on it. Sakura had already started on her branch a foot below him. They stopped and looked down at Kakashi to see if he wanted them to do anything more.

Their teacher watched them for a moment before he seemed to make a decision. "Is there anything else you guys can do that I should know before giving you a different excersice?" They exchanged glances again and silently decided on what they would let him know.

Kakashi already had an idea of what their taijutsu skill was like, at least he should. He wouldn't be aware of the speed drills they did in the morning or the weights they lifted to build muscle. They didn't want to give away their studies or their experiments with chakra blades and fire jutsu.

He knew about Naruto's kage bushin skills, but they wanted to keep their own abilities in the jutsu a secret as well. Sasuke was able to create a dozen or so bushins and could henge them into human appearances. He still couldn't henge kage bushin into an inanimate object. Sakura could only create three or four bushins at a time and couldn't manage a tradition henge on any of them.

But they could show him how they could spar while tree climbing. He seemed to want to focus on chakra control anyway, and as far as they were concerned, tree sparring was only an advanced version of the simple chakra control excersice Asuma had shown them.

With another nod the two teens leapt at each other. They gave a brief exchange of blows in mid-air before touching down on the side of a tree. Sasuke didn't wait before he leapt at Sakura again. She let him come and they had another exchange of kicks and punches while moving up the side of the trunk. Sasuke was driving Sakura back towards the tree branches. When they reached them fighting became more difficult as you had to watch your opponent and your surroundings.

The spar went on for ten minutes or so, with the two Genin fighting on top of branches, underneath them, on the side of the tree trunks and in mid air as they moved from tree to tree. It ended when Sasuke was able to gain a solid hit to Sakura's rib-cage that sent her crashing seventeen feet to the ground.

The Uchiha landed beside her as she tried to gain her breath back from the heavy fall. They always fell during practice so Sasuke wasn't too worried about her. After the first few times they seemed to get used to it. Similar to when they started learning taijutsu. Their bodies adjusted to being punched and kicked and when a workout at the beginning of training would leave them black and blue, the same workout three weeks later would hardly leave a mark.

He lent her a hand up and gave her an encouraging smile. He complimented her on some of the moves she had improved and then started critiquing her form, forgetting for a moment why they had started the spar in the first place. A quiet cough interrupted them, and Sasuke realized where they were.

An impassive face quickly replaced the gentle smile he had been giving Sakura. They looked at Kakashi and waited for him to speak. The Jounin didn't hide his curiosity as he studied the pair. "That was rather well done. How long have you been sparring using the trees?"

"Nearly as long as we've known to tree climb." Kakashi nodded at Sakura's answer.

"And Naruto can do this too?"

"Yes."

The Jounin was silent as he took in this information. There was a new light to his eyes, one that Sasuke couldn't quite place. "Let's go back to the house. We'll need to use the bath for the next exercise."

The followed Kakashi while trying to figure out what he was up to. _'What in the world do we need the bath for?'_ Sasuke thought as the three picked their way through the traps once more.

They said hello to Tsunami and ignored the glares Inari was giving them from the kitchen table. Kakashi asked if it was all right to borrow the bath for a few hours. Tsunami seemed confused but let them know it was free until this evening. The Jounin thanked her and led the two Genin into the bathroom where he made sure the bath was full.

The water was cold in the tub, but Sasuke didn't think they were there for a hot soak anyway. Sure enough, Kakashi started to explain that the next step up in chakra control was water walking. Sasuke remembered watching Zabuza and Kakashi fight on top of the river and wondered why he didn't notice how they stood above the water.

"Instead of pushing a set amount of chakra through the soles of your feet like you do to stick to trees, you must constantly be changing the amount of chakra you release. You start in a still-standing pool of water like a bath or small lake. When you master that you move to a slow-current body of water like a lazy river or medium lake. When you reach master of that you can start on fast-moving rivers or large lakes with powerful currents. You can even work on walking over the ocean at that point.

"The river next to Tazuna's house is a little fast paced, but if you can demonstrate the ability to stay a float of a bath for a few hours then you may try the river tomorrow. There isn't much room here so you can practice standing together and then practice walking in circles when you practice separately." Sasuke nodded at the good sense Kakashi was speaking.

The dark-haired teen stepped up and balanced on the edge of the bath before setting a foot over the water. The foot sunk a little before he adjusted the chakra to the right level and put full weight on the foot. He stepped out with his second foot and repeated the process. His first foot sunk a little as he worked on the second and it took him a few minutes to learn how to concentrate on both feet at the same time.

When he looked up from practicing he noticed Sakura nearby doing the same thing. Kakashi was just watching silently with a pleased expression on his face. Sasuke ignored him in favor of taking a few steps the small bath allowed with two people on it. Both teens worked for the next two hours side by side. Kakashi had gotten bored soon after they had started and left in favor of his book.

The two teens felt more at ease with their teacher gone. He may have finally taught them something, but he still had a long way to go. Sasuke let Sakura have the bath first as she had to go on duty in a few more hours. He coached her to try doing simple katas that the bath would allow. They both were soaking wet by the time lunch was called. Sakura hadn't reacted well to Sasuke's laughter the first time she fell in.

-Scene Break-

Naruto was starving. While the old man Tazuna had taken a box lunch, Naruto didn't have time to pack one before chasing after the bridge-builder. It was the old man's fault, but the stingy bastard refused the share. Naruto had been thinking about helping the old man out with a few kage bushin to help with lifting, but no, not after that. The old man could lift his own wood and metal planks.

Still, it was kind of sad to watch the fishermen work. Most were past their prime, and all of them kept looking around as if waiting for an attack. With the way bandits came after people who opposed Gatou, Naruto wasn't very surprised. Tazuna hadn't bothered to introduce the blonde as a ninja, so he refrained from trying to reassure the workers that he wouldn't let anything happen. _'They'd probably laugh and call me a shrimp like the old bastard anyway,'_ Naruto thought.

No one seemed to have much faith in this village. It was depressing not to hear children laughing and people talking as general background noise while in a town. But everyone stayed quiet, as if they were afraid to bring attention to themselves. The few children Naruto had seen while traveling through the village were quickly rushed back inside, or scampered off into shadows on their own when they saw someone approach.

The fox-carrier was happy when Sakura showed up to relieve him. He hurried back to Tazuna's as fast as he could. He didn't want to see the broken village. It brought back memories of Hogwarts and the end of Voldemort's reign of terror. Laughter had been few and far between and no one seemed to trust anyone, even friends that had known each other since childhood. It was tyrant-induced terror and Naruto hated it.

Tsunami had a large serving of lunch saved for him and apologized for not having packed a second lunch. She didn't know that one of the Genins was going to follow her father to work. Naruto waved off her apologies and ran a running complimentary as he wolfed down the food. When he was done he babbled cheerfully to her while she washed his dishes (having refused to let him do it) and then asked where Sasuke was.

A little confused at having to find his teammate in the bathroom, Naruto hunted the Uchiha out. He was amazed when entering and seeing the dark-haired boy performing a simple kata on top of the bath, filled with water. When his friend finished the blonde demanded to learn how he did that. Sasuke laughed at him and gave him a simplified direction that Naruto could follow. It only took a few minutes before Naruto was standing on the water.

Sasuke left him to practice on his own and to catch some sleep before his watch that night. Naruto hardly heard him as he was concentrating on staying above water. He found it easier to move around than to stand still. When Sasuke told him that Sakura and he had been able to stand still for two hours the blonde was determined to match them. He had a few falls into the water but by the end of the night he had stood for two hours and twenty minutes.

The week seemed to go by fast after that. Naruto gave in and started helping Tazuna the next day with a few kage bushin when one of the workers told the old man he couldn't work anymore. He even cheered the old bastard up with a good old fashion insult war. The other workers seemed to smile a little bit more as Naruto and Tazuna fought throughout the day. Sakura mentioned that they seemed to enjoy when she helped out as well, and were more polite and generous as the week went on. She had impressed them, as they hadn't thought a small girl could keep up with them, let alone out do them.

The three had been allowed to practice on the river the next day of training and by the end of the week Sasuke had them sparring against him nearly as well as they tree sparred. When the second week began the trio decided to switch schedules. Naruto took the night shift while Sakura flipped to mornings and Sasuke took afternoons. The second day into the schedule Kakashi had suggested that Sasuke go with Sakura to practice on the larger river beneath the bridge.

The Jounin was well enough that he accompanied Tazuna all day but didn't help with the bridgework. Naruto told his teammates that he'd take a short nap and join them at the bridge to practice. He fell asleep with a smile at how nice this mission was turning out to be. He woke up when he heard Tsunami scream.

It startled him awake instantly. That wasn't a playful scream or a happy scream. It had been fearful, scared. He grabbed his weapons and made his way down the stairs as quickly as he could while staying quiet. He saw the overturned table and messy kitchen first, and then caught Inari running out the front door in corner of his eye. He had yelled at the kid earlier that week about being a crybaby, but it hadn't seemed to make a difference.

When he followed after the boy he saw a samurai thug pulling Tsunami along towards the dock. A pit trap had been sprung and Naruto could see a second thug climbing out of it. Inari was running headlong at the samurai holding his mother. Knowing he wouldn't be able to run fast enough to catch Inari he threw a few kage-bushin shuriken and watched them pass the bridge-builder's grandson.

The blonde had caught the attention of he samurai but ignored the man's gloating in favor of releasing the inanimate henge on the shuriken and letting them attack the samurai from behind. Tsunami collapsed to the ground but seemed to be all right. Naruto took care of the second thug, still struggling out of the pit fall before checking the woman over. Inari was babbling a mile a minute on how he should have done this or that and how it was all his fault.

When he knew that Tsunami was fine, only in slight shock he turned his attention to the boy. "Inari!" That caught his attention. "You did fine. You didn't run away and your mom's fine. She's a little shaken up. Give her a few minutes and it'll be like nothing happened. I'm proud of you. You were scared but you didn't let that stop you from trying to help. That's what real courage is." He smiled at Inari and ruffled the kid's hair.

His kage bushin had finished tying up the two thugs and Naruto had them carry Tsunami into the house. He warned Inari that the two bushins would stay with them until Naruto was too far to keep them up. They'd disappear, but they should need them. Inari wished the blonde good luck and Naruto took off for the bridge at a run.

When he arrived he noticed the bridge workers unconscious or dead at the end of the bridge, Sakura defending Tazuna, Kakashi facing down Zabuza and Sasuke trapped in a large prism of what seemed to be mirrors. He took a moment to have some kage bushins move the bridge workers to the edge of town. It would be easier to battle without having to worry about innocents getting in the way.

As he watched Sasuke dodging senbon from the hunter-nin he cursed no knowing the advanced kawamari to switch places with a human. It'd be simple getting Sasuke out with a kage bushin substitute if he knew it. Instead he went through his other options while vowing to make Kakashi teach him that skill whether the Jounin wanted to or not.

-Scene Break-

Sasuke did not like this. He had seen the bridge yesterday and there hadn't been nearly as much fog and mist as there was this morning. He wished Naruto was with them for a brief moment before they found the downed bridge workers. The Uchiha didn't have time to decide whether they were dead or unconscious before Zabuza showed with the hunter-nin at his side.

"So we meet again Kakashi. I see you're missing a brat. Shame. You'll need all the help you can get." Sasuke snorted in disgust. It was as bad as listening to Voldemort or Lucius Malfoy. The missing-nin created six Mizu-bushin and surrounded the three ninjas and their client. He resisted rolling his eyes as he exchanged glances with Sakura. In quick succession he had downed four of the bushins while Sakura took care of the last two.

It may not have been that easy if they hadn't caught the Jounin by surprise. Their last battle hadn't shown many of their skills. It could have been a lucky win from Zabuza's point of few. Still, the man hid his shock rather quickly and sent his ally out.

"Haku. Take care of the brats." The fake hunter-nin stepped forward and Sasuke glanced at Kakashi to see what their teacher wanted to do. The Jounin instructor only nodded the Uchiha forward as well. The dark-haired teen was leery of fighting a Jounin-level ninja, but didn't think Kakashi would actually send him into a fight he didn't have a chance of winning. He may be a lazy bastard, and act like an idiot at times, but they had noticed in the past week that he did seem to have a little bit of common sense.

Sasuke didn't wait for an exchange of pleasantries, but dashed forward with a boost of chakra. Haku was waiting for them, and the two exchanged blows in a rapid manner Sasuke wasn't used too. But he kept up and pressed his advantage. The two combatants had locked kunai when the fake hunter-nin gave him surprise number one.

"You're good." When Sasuke didn't answer Haku continued. "But you've made two mistakes." Again, the Uchiha didn't bother responding to his opponent's taunts. "One, we're surrounded by water." Of course they were. They were fighting in the middle of a bridge over water with puddles everywhere. Did this Haku think he was blind as well as an idiot?

"Second, I've locked on of your hands. You can't use any jutsu." Sasuke only had a moment to wonder about that comment as one of Haku's hands had been locked as well. Then the fake hunter-nin started doing one-handed seals. It was only by quick maneuvering he had learned from dodging bludgers that allowed him to escape the multitude of ice needles that had flown to their position.

He landed and didn't bother to recover as he charged at Haku once more. He wasn't about to let the fake hunter-nin regroup and notice a weakness of his before the Uchiha had found one of Haku's. He exchanged another round of hits and blocks, careful not to lock kunais again. An opening occurred rather quickly and Sasuke only had a split second to wonder if it was a trap before giving Haku a powerful kick to the head.

His opponent landed next to Zabuza and Sasuke cursed himself for taking the opening. He had forgot to remember his surroundings. There was no way he could follow up on his attack without endangering himself to Zabuza as well.

"Haku. At this level it will take forever." Haku was slowly standing up, but nodded at Zabuza's comment. This time, using both hands, the fake hunter-nin started another jutsu. Cursing himself once more for taking that kick, Sasuke braced himself for whatever jutsu was to be thrown at him.

When mirrors made of ice started materializing around him Sasuke tried to figure out what he was suppose to do. He didn't decide fast enough for Haku stepped into one of the mirrors and then ALL the mirrors started reflecting the fake-hunter-nin's image back at the dark-haired teen.

"These are my Demonic Ice Mirrors. My bloodline. You can not escape." Sasuke snorted in derision. There was always a way to escape. It just depended on how fast you could learn what it was. But Haku didn't give him any time to try. Sasuke was forced to dodge senbon thrown by the dozen. It would have given him plenty of ammo to return fire if the senbon hadn't dissolved as soon as they had been used. It seemed Haku like to use ice senbon rather than metal. That would explain how the fake hunter-nin could use so many without running out.

He was able to block a few with his kunai, and even return fire on the occasion he thought he knew which mirror his opponent was in. But nothing was working and he was down to his last kunai. He wasn't about to throw it when the last eight had failed, not to mention the four shuriken he had thrown. The only upside was it was getting easier to dodge and block the senbon the longer this went on.

It could even be considered fun if not for the fact that Haku was still aiming for non-vital areas. He wondered why the enemy didn't just finish him off, but prayed it would continue. Once Haku started to take it seriously Sasuke probably wouldn't last much longer.

A few of the senbon hit his right arm and stuck rather than scratch the surface. He felt his arm numb and realized he couldn't use it. He quickly switched his kunai into his left hand but another senbon hit it out of his hand. Haku gave him a brief respite and Sasuke tried to think of what else he could do. He doubted the fake hunter-nin would let him retrieve his kunai that lay a few feet away.

"As you can see, you can not win. Stand down." Sasuke didn't bother replying as he continued to search for a way to defend himself. He cursed the senbon in his shoulders as he looked around for an exit.

'_Wait a minute.'_ Sasuke looked at his shoulder and sure enough, two senbon were sticking out of the flesh as the arm itself hung limply. He looked around on the ground and noticed all the other senbon had liquefied already. _'They must need chakra to keep their form. By being submerged in my flesh they have access to my chakra. If I-'_ Sasuke pulled one out of his shoulder and tried his idea of letting a small amount of chakra feed the senbon. The ice weapon held and Sasuke smirked. _'Round two.'_

Haku had decided that he had enough time and Sasuke dodged another round of senbon, using his confiscated weapon to deflect a few. He was tiring, but thought he might outlast Haku. Keeping those mirrors up and creating so many senbon non-stop must use a lot of chakra. But he couldn't be sure.

Luckily, Sakura intervened in their war of attrition. A yell attracted Sasuke's attention and he watched as his teammate threw a kunai in his direction. He wondered if it would get through, but was answered as the kunai neared the Ice Mirrors. Haku came halfway out of a mirror and caught the projectile.

The fake hunter-nin started to mock Sasuke, but was interrupted by a shuriken catching him in the face. If it hadn't been for the wooden mask the young man wore, Haku would have been dead. Sasuke wished it had been that easy before trying to sense who had thrown the shuriken. If it was Naruto he could sneak out of the mirror while the blonde was creating a scene. Uzumaki Naruto was good at that.


	6. Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

'_This was not good.'_ Sakura strained to follow the two battles by sound and sense alone. All by herself - no wand and little ninja knowledge - she couldn't help but feel a little fearful. It was better than facing the troll in first year, but worse than going to the department of mysteries in fifth. At least then she had been a little more confident in her ability to defend herself properly. With this mist she could hardly see and using her senses was either all or nothing deal. Perhaps with a bit more training...

The one time she had tried to move Tazuna to a more secure location, Zabuza had attacked. Kakashi had a nice long gash across his front in an effort to protect them and that made the situation even worse. She may not like her instructor, but she'd be damned if she was going to cause his death. Since then she had kick her 'sixth' sense up and waited for something to turn the tide of battle.

She was at a lost for what to do while Sasuke and Kakashi fought. A couple of plans had come up but she really couldn't do any jutsus while having her senses on high, and she had no idea how to pull the rest off without magic. Hope was really starting to dwindle until she sensed a new chakra arriving. '_Naruto!'_ She had never been happier to have her third teammate show up. The loud mouth idiot arrived at her side in a blur of speed, causing Tazuna to jump.

"What's going on, Sakura?" She gave a basic rundown while he created kage bushin and started deploying them in the field. "Kakashi and the eyebrow-less freak are just throwing words back and forth. Sasuke's in trouble, being hard pressed by that bogus hunter-nin. They're still in that ice cage thingy and moving pretty fast too. We should probably send Tazuna and you out while we still have this fog. It's starting to thin. After we replace you and Tazuna with kage bushin, I'll distract the bogus hunter-nin and give Sasuke a chance to get out while you hide Tazuna. I could send a kage-bushin with you but you'd have to stay in range. With it you'd be able to let me know when were clear to give up the ruse."

Sakura nodded in agreement and suggested that they make the switch during the distraction instead of before by using the underside of the bridge. Her nerves had calmed enough with the presence of her teammate that she started thinking a little more orderly. "I have a couple of places in range that could work, but they're close to the outskirts. Are you sure you can afford to use that much chakra?" Any left over fear she had turned into anger at the cocky smirk her gave her. '_The nerve of that no-good…'_ But at the same time Sakura was glad he was the same old Naruto/Ron. It made her feel more like the confident Hermione than the insecure little Sakura. '_And I really need to look into split personality disorders when we get back to Konoha.'_

Naruto sent Tazuna over the bridge edge with two kage bushins and henged his real-self into the bridge builder. Sakura took that as her cue to start towards Sasuke's battle. Just when she saw the outline of a dome of ice she yelled "Sasuke-kun" in the most girly voice she had and let a kunai fly. The hunter-nin caught it but when Haku started lecturing them one of Naruto's kage bushin threw a shurinkan that hit dead center in his forehead and flung Haku out of the mirror. With some smoke bombs Naruto created the corniest intro she had ever heard. '_Draco Malfoy couldn't have done better.'_

The fog cleared some more and Sakura could see every member of this little showdown. Haku and Zabuza were looking at the orange clad Naruto in disgust while Kakashi defended the '#1 most surprising ninja'. Sakura noticed Sasuke leaving the ice prison and started lecturing 'Naruto' on being an idiot in a know-it-all tone. When the Uchiha heir was clear she gave an 'okay' hand signal and 'Naruto' pretended to loose his temper and created two more clones before charging Haku.

Sakura almost forgot her part in the plan at hat point. When a copy of herself pushed her towards the bridge edge she shook her head clear of thoughts regarding the impossibility of using jutsus in a cloned body, solid or not. Dashing over the side she took hold of an arm of the real Tazuna from an upside down kage-bushin and ran for land as quietly as possible. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest as she ran through the list of where she could hide. The concealed worry that she might not see her boys again made her glad she didn't have to speak. The lump in her throat would have made that difficult.

-Scene break-

Naruto cursed himself in his head as he pretended to be Tazuna. That stunt had taken way more chakra than he thought it would. The cost of a single kage bushin through a clone was worth nearly twenty if he had done the jutsu himself. Add up all the henged bushins he'd been creating and the bushin he was trying to keep up while Sakura got farther away and he wasn't sure how long he was going to make it. He was working off only a couple hours of sleep and he'd been practicing his chakra control on the river outside of Tazuna's during his patrol the night before.

The fake hunter-nin was making mince meat out of his bushin and the 'original' had been punctured several times by those damn needles. He was pumping nearly five times the amount of chakra into that bushin just to keep it going. When Sasuke arrived at his and 'Sakura's' side he almost gave a sigh of relief as he let the bushin go. Sweat trickled down his brown and he let 'Tazuna' show his 'nervousness' by hastily wiping his brow before it reached his eyes.

He watched the hunter-nin look around casually, as if the disappearance of 'Naruto' didn't bother him in the least. When he spotted the group by 'Tazuna', Naruto had to try really hard not to grin. He could just see the momentary look of disbelief on that masked-nin's face as he did a visible double check on the ice cage and saw no Sasuke.

"Congratulations. You've managed to escape, but I'm sorry. If possible I didn't want to kill you, nor have you kill me. But I am a tool of Zabuza-sama's. I can destroy my kind heart with a blade, and become a true shinobi. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me… to work for that person, to fight for that person, to make that person's dream come true… For that I can become a true shinobi. I will kill you!" Seeing the fake hunter-nin preparing to attack, Naruto sent the last dozen kage bushin around him to attack while 'Sakura' filled Sasuke in on the plan.

The clones lasted less than half a minute, but Sasuke knew what was going on and it looked like Kakashi and Zabuza were locked in another battle of wills. They were at a stand still with Zabuza attacking Kakashi's covered sharingan eye. '_He hasn't used it yet!' _He had no time to ponder that as he used his Sakura clone to interrupt was looked like a rather powerful jutsu. '_Probably that ice cage thing.'_ Sasuke used the opportunity that 'Sakura's' shurinkan gave and hit a well placed blow on the hunter-nin's neck that sent their opponent rolling across the bridge. Before Sasuke could follow up the mist-nin dashed towards Sakura and flung a fist full of needles at Tazuna. Naruto only saw a blur of movement but time seemed to slow as he felt 'Sakura' being hit and poofing out of existence and watched the needles speed towards him. He wouldn't have been able to move he wanted to.

Fear didn't even have time to settle in when he saw the blood splash into the air. It took two breaths and a blink before he realized that it wasn't his blood he was watching. Sasuke was there in front of him, as if he had appeared out of thin air. There had been no time for the black-haired boy to dodge or block and he took the hits dead on. A cold lump filled Naruto's belly as he realized Sasuke had saved him. But those hits look bad, and his friend wasn't moving, and the hunter-nin wasn't pressing the advantage. Naruto watched as a un-henged Sasuke turned on shaking legs and saw the needles sticking out of his chest and neck. That cold lump grew and another formed in his throat choking off his air supply. '_No, please no.'_

Sasuke's shaking figure struggled to turn and just as Naruto caught his friends eyes a low whispered "Don't…die," came out of blood flecked lips. The thought of how his friend's eyes had changed from blue-black to dark red didn't register as he watched his friend fall.

The world froze.

The plan, his current henge, the last kage bushin with Sakura. He forgot it all as he saw his first friend, his _best_ friend die. His jutsus failed him as he ran to the Uchiha's side. The gasp of surprise by the killer didn't register.

"Sasuke… don't you dare leave me again." Lifting the boy up Naruto started taking out the needles with shaking hands. The body was warm and while it was probably wishful thinking, Naruto thought he could still feel life in his friend.

The hunter-nin was speaking, but the words passed over him. Once the last needle was out, Naruto slowly reached up to Sasuke's neck and felt for a pulse.

Nothing. He waited, praying, hoping with every fiber of his being. Nothing.

Tears gathered in his eyes as the blonde reverently placed his friend back on the ground. He realized the hunter-nin was still speaking, but couldn't understand the words. '_Shut up.'_ He wanted to say, but couldn't manage to form words himself. '_Shut up! Sasuke's dead…'_ The thought trailed off as the image of Sasuke taking the hunter-nin's attack flashed past his eyes.

'_That's right. Sasuke's dead.'_ The realization seemed to him like a lighting bolt. '_And it's __**all**__…'_ Rage as he had never felt before burst through him. '_…__**your**__…'_ Hate hit him in the gut like an over-powered bludger. '_…__**FAULT**__!'_ His pain fuelled the hate and rage as he looked up at the hunter-nin with a desperate glare.

He felt detached as chakra - filled with that rage and hate - flared around him. The only coherent thoughts running through his head were: '_Not Sasuke. Not again.'_ and _'I'm going to __**kill**__ that bloody bastard.'_

Instinct drove his body forward, smashing his fist through the mask of the hunter-nin and following the flying figure only to deliver a powerful kick that flung him back to the ground. Blow after blow he delivered before an ill placed punch sent the hunter-nin flying again. An irritated growl escaped him as he crouched down to start a dash that would put him right next to his prey.

A part of him was screaming that this wasn't him. That while he wanted to make the ninja pay, this sick feeling of pleasure while he played with opponent - knowing he could end it at anytime - was wrong. But the hate and rage over powered that part and he couldn't find the will power to fight back. Sasuke was gone. He was all alone again. The world around him had faded and all he knew was his pain and his prey.

"Naruto Ronald Billius Weasley Uzumaki!"

-Scene break-

Sakura had turned to Naruto's kage bushin to give him the go ahead when she noticed it was frozen in mid-step. Two seconds later it dispersed in a cloud of smoke. Worry turned to fear slammed into her. With a quick word to Tazuna to ensure he knew to stay put for at least six hours, she was off.

If it had just dispersed Sakura would guess Naruto needed the chakra or that she had gone out of his range. But the bushin had frozen and she the only explanation she could think was Naruto in extreme enough shock to freeze his copies as well as himself before he lost control on the jutsu. She had almost reached the bridge when a wave of power flooded her senses. The rage and hate that soaked it churned her stomach

Half a minute later she was watching Naruto brutally decimate Haku. "Naruto!" '_This isn't you'_, she wanted to add. Moving closer she could see his eyes, a deep red that reminded her of freshly spilt blood. "Naruto! Stop!" A knee to the gut, and elbow to the spine and a fist to the face sent the fake hunter-nin flying. "Naruto!"

She was only a few feet away from him, but he wasn't hearing her voice. She could see Sasuke lying on the ground nearby and knew it had to be bad. She refused to think about it further, concentrating on her friend gone berserk. Before Naruto could sprint after Haku, Sakura took a deep breath and channeled her inner Hermione, hoping she could get through to her friend.

"Naruto Ronald Billius Weasley Uzumaki!" Her blonde friend froze and her heart lightened as she noticed those red eyes wide in shock rather than narrowed in anger. "Look at me Naruto. I'm here, I'm alive and I'm not going anywhere. Your enemy is down and isn't a threat." She continued in that vein of thought as she took slow steps towards her friend. She watched carefully as Naruto's eyes turned from red to light purple and finally settling on the brilliant blue she had come to love. When he glanced back to Sasuke she saw tears in his eyes. She quit speaking and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He saved me. Again… Why does he always save us?" The choked tone of voice confirmed her worst fears more than the words themselves. Sakura had to wait a few moments before she could speak past the lump in her throat.

"Remember. He's got that hero-complex. Would we really want him any other way?" Naruto could only shake his head. She noticed that he had dropped his half animagus transformation but couldn't really remember why that might be bad. Her mind was starting the break down, focusing only on what was in front of her: a hurt friend and another that might not be coming back to her. She followed Naruto as he walked over to Sasuke and the two stood silent testimony for his sacrifice. Sakura couldn't bring herself to touch the body yet. Doing so would make it real, and she wasn't ready for that.

A harsh cackling interrupted her vigil. Irritated, she looked up and noticed the fog had cleared immensely. She could almost see either end of the bridge. Turning her head slightly, she noticed the end jutting out to the river had a group of low class thugs with a short man in a sharp business suit laughing in front of them. Haku was lying a few feet away from the group, the large red stain on his chest told her was dead or close to.

"Gatou, why are you here? And what's with all these men?" Zabuza's voice was low and dangerous, but Sakura was glad it cut off that horrible laughter.

The little man – '_Gatou'_, a part of her mind reminded her – gave another short chuckle. "The plan has been changed a bit. Sorry, but, Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."

"What?"

"Hiring normal ninjas is expensive, so I get missing-nins like you. The ninjas battle it out, and, with any luck, they'll kill each other, saving me both money and effort. But the 'Devil of Kirigakeru'? What a joke, if you ask me… You're just a cute little baby devil." The thugs joined their leader in laughter and Sakura's face twisted in disgust. It was just like the Death Eaters, the superior air and disdain for those they believed were beneath them. When he gave a hard kick to Haku's lifeless body, her temper snapped. A kunai was in her hand and flashing towards Gatou before the full thought of '_He should die'_ went through her mind. The ninja knife smashed through the sunglasses and sunk into his skull with a wet thunk.

Silence reigned as the corrupt merchant's body fell backwards and lay quiet in death. The mob of thugs began to murmur angrily when she turned her back on them and knelt next to Sasuke. She heard Naruto yelling back and felt him create some clones, but without that hate filled chakra distracting her, she could only look at Sasuke. She took hold of his hand, feeling the slightly chilled skin and wishing it was a dream. She couldn't bring herself to check futilely for a pulse. Clutching his body to her chest, she let the tears she had been holding back go. She felt an arm go around her and knew Naruto had joined her in morning their friend.

-Scene break-

It was warm. Sasuke blinked his eyes open and could only see dark shadows. Someone was holding him. It felt safe and warm and comfortable. He didn't want to leave, but his limbs felt stiff, as if everything had fallen asleep at once. The urge to move screamed at him.

The arms that held him didn't give him much room, but after he had shifted a few times, they loosened enough for him to attempt to sit up properly. Only managing to get partway up, the arms that were holding him suddenly clutched him tight and dragged him up all the way.

He blinked as his blurry vision focused on the distressed face of Sakura. Still feeling like he was half asleep, he wondered what was wrong. He opened his mouth to ask only to be crushed back to his friend's chest. Pulling numb limbs up, Sasuke tried to push away, but his strength failed him. Blinking, trying to grasp what had happened, he waited for Sakura to let go.

Gears turned in his head as he tried to place where he was and what he had been doing. It seemed to click into place all at once as the flash of Haku and senbon needles flashed through his head. Intellectually he knew his memory had happened in a single moment, but to him, it had taken an eternity: watching the enemy attack 'Sakura', knowing that the needles flying from Haku's hand were meant for 'Tazuna', and realizing that Naruto would be forced to take a possibly lethal hit to keep up the disguise. There had been no time to think. Sasuke had seen it in sudden clarity, and just… moved. One moment he was several feet away, and the next pain had run through his chest and a numb tingling had spread from his neck down.

It had taken all his will to stay standing as numbness flooded his limbs. He had thought he was dying. Despite having just started a new life with his friends, it felt like he had no time left. It took forever to turn his body enough to catch Naruto's eyes. He remembered telling Naruto not to die before darkness took him.

'_Wait.'_ That memory struck him as off. '_I died.'_ But here he was, still alive. '_Didn't I die?'_ He tried pushing away from Sakura again, but only managed to get some breathing room as Sakura loosened her hold.

"I'm… alive?" He managed to ask. His throat felt dry and scratchy and dozens of sharp pains in various places were making themselves known. Sakura didn't seem to be able to talk yet, but just nodded eagerly with tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Glad to see you've still got it mate." He turned slightly and realized that Naruto was right next to him. In fact, now that he thought about it, there was an extra set of hands on his torso, helping him to stay upright. His limbs ached and he suddenly wanted to go back to sleep. He half-heartily grunted an agreement to his friend before relaxing. Sleep grabbed him moments later.

-Scene break-

Kakashi wasn't sure what to think of his little group. He knew they resented him, but he liked to think that was getting better. Admittedly he had underestimated them, despite their flying colors during the bell test, but really… could anyone blame him. Here were three genin, fresh out of the academy, and while they seemed to have a high amount of loyalty and teamwork, there really shouldn't have been any other difference between them and normal genin.

After passing them, Kakashi had done the usual background check and hadn't been surprised to find their scores. Naruto was dead last but managed to pass when he showed his talent with kage bushin after he managed to steal one of the forbidden scrolls from the Hokage. In anyone else the copy-nin would have been impressed, but with the chakra reserves Naruto had, the kage bushin probably fit in a lot more than a normal one. And according to the Hokage, Naruto was only able to steal the scroll because of luck and that dumb perverted henge the Kyuubi-brat made up. His only real talent Kakashi could find was the ability to prank chuunin successfully and manage to not be caught until hours after the fact.

Sakura had the highest academic grades, but was rather abysmal when it came to physical skills. She was well known to be one of the high 'contenders' for Sasuke's 'love' in the Uchiha boy's rather large fan club. All in all he figured it would probably take a year or so before she grew out of the 'I've-got-a-crush' phase and started training seriously. Until then trying to make something out of her high intelligence would be a waste of time and effort.

Sasuke had the highest potential he could see as the high grades in physical and academic areas gave him the 'rookie-of-the-year' title. The kid knew the beginner Uchiha Katon jutsu and displayed higher than average taijutsu skills for an Academy graduate. While he and Naruto seemed to work well together, Naruto had a more brawler style with no set form.

But with all the praise he heard there were also reports of how stand-offish the last Uchiha was and how the only thing he seemed to care about was learning more techniques. Couple that fact with the cold introduction Kakashi received and the jounin concluded that the only thing in Sasuke's mind was getting strong enough to defeat his older brother. It fit with all the personality traits the chuunin teachers had observed and the occasional reports the ANBU had made when checking in on the kid.

Unfortunately, it seemed he had missed something. By all accounts, the trio would have first bonded during the long wait he had forced on them before introducing himself. He had been impressed with their united front during the bell test, but figured Sasuke to have inherited that charismatic pull his clan was known for. Sakura would obey him for the sake of their 'love' and Naruto always wanted to get stronger and have friends. For the 'elite Uchiha' to be willing the help and talk to him as an equal… the young demon-carrier must have been in high heaven.

Still, he had not been happy to realize all three had such a cavalier attitude towards their missions. While watching small children they had started practicing with kunai, having no regard for the near proximity of the kids. When delivering groceries they seemed to not care about the condition the goods would arrive in and tried to balance them on outstretched arms. He could just see the bags falling and the need to go back and buy more items to replace the ruined ones. Not to mention how much taunting he would get from the other jounin if his team messed up a simple D-rank that bad.

When the trio of new genin had started experimenting with ninjitsu and using them during the missions, Kakashi had put his foot down rather firmly. According to the ANBU reports on the Uchiha, all the kid had done since the massacre was train, train, and train some more. He had hoped that by interacting with his new teammate, Sasuke would slow down and realize there was more than just hunting down his brother in life. His plan had seemed to backfire on him and the other two teammates actually supported the Uchiha's view on training. That was rather emphasized when they teamed up against him on the trip to Wave Country.

Still, the level of practice Sasuke and Sakura had revealed to him was well and beyond what he expect of the trio when only two months had passed since Team 7 had been formed. Especially since they had only learned tree-climbing three weeks ago. Kakashi wondered how long they practiced together after he let them go for the day. The gentle expression on Sasuke's face as he critiqued Sakura disproved any thought of that tree spar being a simple fluke or a wish to show off for their teacher. No, what he saw was a rather well developed comrade relationship without any hint of Sakura's well known crush as she listened to the raven-haired boy.

Watching the three learn water walking had been an experience and he mentally catalogued what role each of the team members had taken upon themselves. He was happy to note that Sasuke was indeed the leader of the group. He had been afraid that all his speculations were completely off. Naruto, surprisingly enough, seemed to be the tactical advisor. Every time the trio wanted to plan something, Sakura would layout the facts, Naruto would put something together and Sasuke would only refine the plan if needed. Sakura seemed to be the information gatherer and level head of the three. She kept the boys from overworking and made sure practical things, like sleep, were planned for when the other two seemed to forget.

Despite the massive about face his perspective had taken, nothing had prepared him for what he had witnessed on the bridge. Sasuke was just a good as he had thought, and Sakura seemed to keep her level head even under fire. Naruto kept him on his toes, but seemed to be able to make up plans on the fly as well during planning sessions. When he thought the seal had broken, he had been preparing himself to the possibility of killing his own student, when Sakura, of all people, talked Naruto out of his feral state. He hadn't been able to pay attention of what had been said while fighting Zabuza, but he had heard her voice shout and instantly felt the Kyuubi's hatred-filled chakra die down.

Even with those surprises, he had not been prepared for the young kunoichi to kill Gatou in a single blow. Zabuza hadn't seemed to either as both jounin had stared at the girl in surprise after the man had fallen. Kakashi had never expected Naruto to be able to talk the 'Devil of Kirigakeru' into admitting his love for the deceased Haku and doing a suicide run into the group of hired men. Nor had he expected the spoiled little Inari to be leading the villagers, the same villagers he had written off as a lost cause, against that group of hired men.

Sasuke's death had been a surprise until he noticed that the boy's aura was still flowing and concluded that Haku had used the death points again. He enjoyed watching the trio reunite, but worried about the after effects that this single battle may have. Naruto had somehow tapped into Kyuubi's chakra, Sasuke had a near death experience, and Sakura had ended up killing someone. No matter that the trio's only concern seemed to be each other immediately after the battle, Kakashi knew that the reality of the fight would set in the next day. The same team he had started to believe could be greatness in the making might have been halted before they ever got started.

He had been prepared to deal with a desolate kunoichi, a shaken demon-carrier, and either an even more determined Uchiha or a morose one. Instead he watched as his genin seemed to brush the life-and-death battle off as a bad dream. Sakura became a mother hen around Sasuke which fit the previous fan girl attitude he had thought was gone. Sasuke seemed his usual self, brushing off any concerns of the girl, and not even complaining as he slowly worked his way back to his normal training routine. Naruto was back to his prankster attitude and seemed happy to find opportunities to start water fights or tickle wars with his teammates. Heck, all three of them were even taking the time to talk with Inari, teaching the kids simple ninja tricks.

The entire situation baffled him. As he kept his front of nonchalant instructor, he watched the three genin over his 'Icha Icha Paradise'. It wasn't until three days after the bridge-battle that he over heard a conversation between the trio and started see the reason behind most of their actions.

Sasuke had finally broken down and demanded to know just what Naruto was trying to pull with all those games disrupting their training. Sakura hadn't let the blonde respond but instead demanded to know just when Sasuke was planning on having fun in his life.

"This isn't the time for fun, you know that!"

Kakashi had found a spot near the window where he could see the three 'talking' in the guest bedroom in Tazuna's house. He noticed Sakura raise a single eyebrow before starting in on the last Uchiha. "Oh really? And why would that be? If we hadn't insisted on a C-rank mission we would be rather safe in Konoha. Can you think of any reason why we need to think in the 'to kill or be killed' mindset? Let's see…" The girl started ticking points off on her fingers. "There's no war going on that we're involved in; there isn't any pressing battle looming ahead of us; and last I checked no megalomaniac murderer is after our heads."

"What about Itachi?" Kakashi looked at the back of Sasuke's head in surprise. '_The kid actually told the other two about his brother?'_

"What about Itachi?" '_Maybe not.'_ There was no way Sakura would have scoffed at that if she knew the whole story. Sasuke didn't seem to believe she had just said that either as only inarticulate sounds seemed to come from the Uchiha heir.

"Look Sasuke. We know you need to kill you brother, and you know that we'll be backing you all the way." Now that was new information to Kakashi. Maybe Sasuke had given the two a simplified version of the massacre. "But just because we're out to kill the maniac, doesn't mean Itachi's out to kill you. He let you live for a reason, even if we don't know why. And in all the time since then he hasn't once tried to correct that fact, right?"

Sasuke had taken a moment before nodding in agreement. Kakashi was wondering just how these two could talk like that. '_Wasn't Sasuke their leader? They were devastated when they thought he had died. What's changed?'_

"Okay… even if he hasn't come after me, what's stopping him from changing his mind? What if he learns about you two and decides eliminate you? Remember, he was determined to emphasize on the 'hate me' and 'cling to life'. I'm rather certain he wanted me to rely on myself and only myself. Having you two at my side probably deviates from the spirit of his instructions, if not the words."

'_Instructions? When did Itachi leave instructions for Sasuke? Did the ANBU miss something in their investigation? Did the missing-nin have some sort of contact with Sasuke? And why would Sasuke want to obey those instructions? Didn't he hate his brother?'_ Kakashi was really beginning to regret passing this team. It gave him nothing but headaches and problems he would rather not deal with.

"I don't think that's something we have to worry about. What was the phrase he kept repeating in the world of Tsukuyomi?"

Silence greeted Sakura's question and Kakashi made a note to research what 'the world of Tsukuyomi' was. When Sasuke spoke it was low and Kakashi could barely catch it. "'If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and lead a loathsome life… run away, run away and cling to life.'"

"He chose that out of all the things he could have burned into you mind along with the sight of all your clan members being killed. When you asked him why he had done it the only reason he gave was to 'test his capacity'. It seems to me that wanted you to live and train only to fight him later when you were at a level close to his own. He must have seen something in you that reminded him of himself. I believe the only thing he wants from you is a decent fight. If Naruto and I can help you get to that level I doubt he'll try to off us until you're close to that point. Then we'll have to start worrying."

_Nice analysis._ He had been one of the ANBU to help in the massacre's investigation and while he wasn't sure what the Tsukuyomi was, he could now guess it had something to do with the mangekyo sharingan. He knew Sasuke had been subjected to witnessing his clan's death over and over, but the words were new to him. They had never come up with a clear motive for Itachi save that the kid had gone off the deep end. But if he had to guess what a deranged mind had to be thinking, Sakura's idea had merit.

It seemed Sasuke was listening for once and Kakashi was wondering if this was going to be the end of the team's conversation. It took a few moments before Sasuke broke the silence again. "What about Naruto?"

'_Naruto?'_ "What about me? I've never met your psycho brother. Promise."

"No. Not that. I mean, I see what you guys are trying to tell me about Itachi. We can wait until we're ready, or close to it before worrying about that. It's not like he's been rampaging since leaving Konoha and I doubt if he was a major threat to the village the council would leave the Uchiha files alone as much as they have. I'd have to fight to keep them more and I'd probably have been questioned more often than just after the massacre.

"So, if you guys want to cut back a bit and have fun, I can try to go along with that, but I'm more worried about you. You know the villagers hate you. We need to be ready incase they decide it's time to get rid of the 'demon'. Just because you're living with me now doesn't make you safe all the time. We're no where near powerful enough to keep an entire village from killing you." '_Oh shit.'_ Kakashi really hoped that wasn't what he thought it was.

"Hey! I'm not going to be your excuse to work yourself to death. The villagers haven't tried to kill me since I was six and the old man ain't going to let me die. If you-" Naruto's rant was cut off by Sakura.

"Even if we train we won't be powerful enough to stand up to the village in the next week. Come on Sasuke. If you're really worried about that, we'll plan some escape routes for the three of us, but I agree with Naruto. As long as Sandaime is still Hokage we won't have to worry too much. I bet he'll still be around for a few years. Plenty of time to get up to speed if we set a decent training schedule.

"Naruto and I want to be prepared too, we just don't want to practice and only practice. That's all we've done since graduation. When you… died… we realized that we don't have any 'fun' memories with you. Not since Hogwarts. That's not enough. We were given a second chance at life. We don't want to waste it." '_Okay, maybe not so bad.' _Kakashi's heartbeat had gone back to normal as he realized that Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem to know about Kyuubi. They had probably just noticed the unusual amount of hate directed at Naruto. Granted, he didn't like hearing about that 'since I was six' part, but he could ask Sandaime what was going on there.

The fact that the two were going to help Sasuke lay off the training made him immensely cheerful. He had just started to get in the three genin's good graces. Destroying that by forcing the three to not practice when they clearly wanted to would have been rather annoying. Still, he wanted to learn a little more about these three. There was a lot of trust there for only a two month friendship. And Sakura had implied that they had some memories before graduation. '_Note to self: find out what a 'Hogwarts' is.'_


	7. Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Ohhh Yeah! Thanks old man!" Naruto gleefully broke his chopsticks and started slurping the wonderful miso ramen from Ichiraku's. It had been busy since returning from wave country, but nothing like before. Sakura had drawn up training schedules that allotted time to have fun as a group as well as time to go off and do their own things.

It had worked surprisingly well. Especially since Kakashi had seemed to take their taijutsu training during the day seriously. Of course, he had also made them vow to only train while he was with them during the day. All three had agreed after a trial run of three days and all silently planning on only keeping their word regarding taijutsu training. After all, Kakashi hadn't specifically mentioned ninjutsu, genjutsu, weapons work, or stealth, stamina, and knowledge.

So their days ended up being a bit of an early morning study session followed by a basic work out while waiting for their teacher, mission (if they had one), taijutsu training in the forest or on a lake, and pretending to go their own ways. Sakura took to eating dinner at home again while the Sasuke cooked and Naruto quizzed them on the stuff Sakura was bound to test them on. Honestly, that girl had become scarier with this new reincarnation. At Hogwarts she wouldn't have dared to use her spell knowledge during study sessions, probably because of the teachers and other students. But now the kunoichi had no problem using physical violence if they, usually Naruto, didn't take her planned schedule seriously.

"Hit me again old man!"_ 'The old guy still has it.'_ Naruto grinned as a new bowl was immediately offered to him. They only studied a few hours after dinner before starting on ninjutsu or genjutsu training after words. Every few days they'd shove off the jutsu training and do something fun. Naruto was rather happy on those days since Sakura seemed adamant that they focus on genjutsu lately. Her reasons of how they all knew a few ninjutsu, but no genjutsu, added to the fact that none of them could reliably identify if they had been caught in a genjutsu didn't make him like training in it. He sucked at genjutsu and didn't see himself getting better anytime soon.

Sasuke was way better at genjutsu than he was, but only when he used those damn sharigan eyes. Kakashi was teaching him to use them, but it only took one look in a mirror for Sasuke's joy of achieving the Uchiha blood limit to be dashed away. His best friend had told them it reminded him too much of his older brother and that snake-bastard Voldemort. Red eyes were not a good thing in the black-haired boy's experience. Unless he was specifically training them, Sasuke preferred to keep the sharigan sealed away. Naruto was fine with that. Those eyes creeped him out.

"One more old man!" Setting upon his new bowl of ramen, Naruto flipped through what he was going to do later tonight. At least once a week, Sakura declared a no training night and the three were free to do whatever they wanted by themselves. They spent nearly 24/7 around each other and the kunoichi wanted to make sure they got some 'alone time'. She usually planned those in order to hang out with Ino and Naruto was happy enough to take the opportunity to run to Ichiraku's. While the blonde wasn't in love with ramen as much as he used to proclaim, he still loved Ichiraku's and had missed it a lot.

He could only convince Sasuke to go for ramen every now and again, and even then Naruto wasn't allowed to down ten bowls in one go. The first time they came together they had a huge yelling match until the old man had told them to shove off. No matter how happy the old man and Ayame-chan was to see Naruto again, he wasn't going to put up with a fight at his stand. The next time they went, Naruto kept himself to only five bowls and made sure to eat twelve when he could go by himself. After all, he still had his pride as Ichiraku's 'number one customer' to keep up.

"Give it to me old man!" This was his tenth and Naruto was starting to feel full, but the smile on the old man's face made eating a few more bowls a pleasure. Besides the great taste, Naruto could only remember good times here at Ichiraku's. He'd been seven when he stumbled across the ramen stand for the first time. The old man was the first in his memory besides Old Man Hokage to look at him with kind eyes. When he was give a bowl of free miso ramen because 'he looked like he needed one', Naruto was a customer for life. Nicknaming the old man 'old man', Naruto never bothered to learn the owner's name. He'd become a pure ramen lover and learned that it was one of the cheapest food at the grocery and it gave him more money in his budget to eat at Ichiraku's every week.

"Last one old man!" Downing his twelfth bowl Naruto realized he hadn't checked on Konohamaru for a while. The little brat had made friends with two other brats in his new ninja class and the small trio loved to find him at odd time to challenge him. Team 7 took this in great stride – Sasuke and Sakura took pains to tease him every chance they got. But both of his teammates pitched in and helped him when they kids asked for help on something they were learning in the academy. Moegi had started to idolize Sakura and Sasuke had actually taken a shine to Udon. But the kids loved it when Naruto would go and play with them by himself.

"That was great! Thanks old man!" Setting down his last bowl with a firm 'clunk' Naruto dashed off in the direction of the park near the academy. The kids seemed to like to play there, and if they weren't Naruto would find something else to do. After all, he hadn't seen Iruka since just after Tazuna's mission.

Spotting the brat trio near the park entrance, Naruto jumped to a nearby tree to see what they were up to. The three kids were huddled together and whispering a bit loudly, but not loud enough to overhear them. Transforming to his half-animagus state underneath his still constant henge of his orange-jumpsuit-clad-self, he let his ears pick up their conversation.

"But Konohamaru-boss, I don't think we can pull you back up."

"Ah, don't worry so much Moegi. If big brother could do it by himself, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Boss, I think she's right. Calculation your weight versus our strength and the length of distance, I don't think you'll have time to reach the top before we have to run."

"And what if the rope slips while you're going down? You could be hurt Konohamaru-kun."

"Boss, Moegi, Boss! I'm Konohamaru-boss and what I says goes. And I say we're painting grandpa's face."

"But-"

"No more arguing Udon. Now, where's the rope you were talking about."

That was enough for Naruto to step in. There was no way he was letting the kids try that particular stunt. There were too many ways it could go wrong. Partly the reason he had done it. Back then he didn't really care if he got hurt, as long as he got attention.

"Going climbing Konohamaru?"

"AHHHHHH!" All three kids jumped up when the demon-carrier landed next to their little group. "Ow!" Udon and Konohamaru managed to smash their heads together and land back on their butts. Naruto tried really hard to keep his laughter inside. After all, the point was to scare the brats shitless so they wouldn't ever think of painting that mountain.

"Naruto-boss!" He nodded at Moegi as he watched the boys rubber the heads and scramble to their feet.

"Big brother! What are you doing here?" The waver in Konohamaru's voice was a sure sign of the brat knowing he was in trouble.

"Oh… you know. Just walking around, thinking of playing a bit with you three."

Three pairs of eyes lit up in excitement, but Konohamaru's were a little shifty. It figures that the Hokage's grandson would know something was up. "R-Really?"

"Really." He waited until it looked like Konohamaru believed that was all Naruto was there for. "Of course, that was cancelled when I heard three brats talking about painting the mountain. You wouldn't know anything about that by chance…" The trio knew they were in trouble, but Konohamaru had the gall to shake his head back and forth really fast.

"You don't? Hmm… I guess that's lucky for them. After all, if someone were to do that… I'd have to a little… angry. You wouldn't want me to get angry, would you Konohamaru?" The kid shook his head again, a little bit faster. "Good." Taking out one of his kunai, he figured he hit his point home. After all, Ginny never listened if she thought her big brothers were just saying stuff to keep her from having fun.

"I think if anyone were to paint old man Hokage's face again, I'd probably want to see how far my kunai skills have improved. I've always wanted to see if I could pin someone to a tree by their shirt without actually hitting them." Flipping the kunai in the air a few times with a thoughtful look on his face he watched as the trio's faces turned pale. Giving into the urge to grin, he crouched down to look at Konohamaru in the eye. "Actually, that sounds kind of fun. What do you say we try that today?"

The kid's eyes got even wider. "AH! Big brother's gone crazy! Run everyone! Run!" Naruto had to chuckle as he watched the kids flee, Konohamaru in the lead.

Figuring they had suffered enough he ran after them. "Oh come on Konohamaru! I came all this way to play something. Don't run away now!" The blonde had a fun time chasing the brats and soon enough the kids were having fun too. They had managed to dodge the occasional passerby until Konohamaru turned to give Naruto a funny face and ran smack into something that knocked him flat.

The first thing the demon-carrier thought when he saw the guy was '_what is up with his face?'_ The second was realizing that this wasn't a Konoha ninja. Suna-nin if he remembered Sakura's lessons right. He had almost reached Moegi and Udon when the foreign ninja reached down and grabbed Konohamaru by his shirt front. '_Shit!'_

"Oi! What you trying to do?"

The guy ignored him and looked at Konohamaru with narrowed eyes. "That hurt, you little piece of shit." Naruto had to hold himself back as the Suna-nin's fist tightened in the kid's shirt and Konohamaru gave a small sound of pain.

"Don't. We'll get yelled at later." The female Suna-nin didn't seem to care all that much despite here words. Trying to keep calm, the blonde started to form a fine strand of chakra, and sent it off to the fence on his right. Naruto would rather smack both their asses, but he didn't know how strong they were, and there was too much a chance that the kids would get involved. If there was going to be a fight, it be better to get the kids out of the way first.

"I think you should put him down." The blonde kept his voice even and made sure his hand was near his leg kunai pouch incase the string didn't work.

"Let's play a little before the boss comes." The guy didn't even give him a glance. Naruto wasn't sure what he should do. The fact that they were foreign-nin was against him. They were probably here legally or they wouldn't be willing to pick a fight like this, but that would mean he'd get in big trouble if he took any 'threatening' moves – like cutting off circulation in the arm holding Konohamaru up with a string of chakra. Most of the ninja's that had replaced the Uchiha's in policing the village weren't too keen on listening to his side of any story. Unlike Sasuke or Konohamaru, he didn't get special treatment because of his family. '_Wait! That's it.'_

"You don't want to play with him. After all, once this 'boss' of yours get here, I doubt he'll be happy to hear you beat up the Hokage's grandson. Put him down now if you don't want me to report you for already threatening him." It took a moment for the words to sink in, but he could tell the guy realized what was at stake. With an annoyed grunt, the purple-painted jerk tossed Konohamaru to Naruto. The blonde caught him with left arm and set the kid down gently while watching the Suna-nins for anything that could cause more trouble. His half-animagus form he had yet to let go from earlier let him catch the little details: the white knuckles on the purple-jerk, the smirk the kunoichi giving the guy, and the smell of sand and blood coming from the tree to his right. '_Probably that 'boss' of theirs.'_ He'd noticed most jounins carried a lingering trace of blood, especially when they returned from assassination missions.

Dissipating the chakra string he had lined up, Naruto put both hands on the rescued kid. "Let's go, Konohamaru." Keeping his ears open the demon-carrier turned and started to herd the kids back they way they came.

"Hey, punk! Get back here." Stopping a moment, Naruto turned his head to glare at the guy. "I hate know-it-all brats like you." The purple-jerk grabbed at the straps hooked over his arms and pulled around a massive… thing wrapped in bandages that had helped keep the… thing on his back.

"Hey! You're even going to use Karasu?!" The panicked tone from the kunoichi didn't make Naruto feel better, nor did the heavy clank the… thing, karasu?, made when it hit the ground in front of the foreign-nin.

"Get out of here Konohamaru," Naruto whispered to the kid and before the brat could object he gave him his best 'Do-as-your-told-NOW' look. With a gulp the Hokage's grandson high-tailed it out of there with his friends, hopefully to get someone that would help. He turned to face the Suna-nins again, but didn't make any move to fight. If a fight did break out it would be better if he didn't start it, and he was praying that it wouldn't come down to a fight. As much as he felt the purple-jerk deserved a good beating, he hadn't spent a night in the police force jail since before he was a genin and didn't plan on breaking that record.

It seemed like someone actually listened to his prayers for once as that hidden jounin decided to speak up just as Naruto saw purple-jerk's muscles tense for an attack. "Kankuro, stop it. You're an embarrassment to our village." The blonde was too far away to actually see the jounin on the other side of the tree, but he didn't need to. Fear was rolling off the two foreign-nins and Naruto's problem was probably solved.

Except, now that the jounin wasn't hiding, the demon-carrier was feeling the overwhelming desire to 'kill', 'fight', and 'maim' the guy was projecting. It was probably to put the foreign-nins in place, but the blonde really didn't want to draw attention right now. The jounin's aura reminded him what it was like to be near Voldemort when the snake-bastard was fighting Sasuke in the last battle.

"G-Gaara." Naruto could see the sweat pouring down purple-jerk's face as he hastily put 'karasu' back on his back.

"What do you think we came to Konoha to do?" The question was stated in the same low monotone as before, but Naruto could hear the underlying anger in it. _ 'I'd probably be sweating to, if Kakashi was that angry with me.'_

"L-listen Gaara… T-This guy started it, and-"

"Shut up." Purple-jerk should have lied a bit more convincingly. Obviously this Gaara guy wasn't buying it. Kankuro jerked back a bit as the killing intent hiked up another notch. "I'll kill you." '_Crap!'_ Whether Naruto did it or not, if a dead body showed up near the demon-carrier, the village would form a lynch-mob. '_Besides, the guys a jerk – can't kill him for that… just beat him up a lot.'_

"I got it. My mistake." Purple-jerk waved his hands in a terrified placating manner. The killing intent went back down a bit as Kankuro continued. "I'm sorry, really sorry."

'_Thank Merlin.'_ "Apologies to you." '_Huh?'_ In whirlwind of sand started in the tree the jounin was at and stopped just a few paces next to the Suna-nins. Surprise shot through Naruto as he caught site of a kid that couldn't be much older than himself, with a huge gourd strapped to his back, and red hair that reminded him more of dried blood than his old hair color. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play around."

"I know that…" Purple-jerk seemed to be back to normal and the three Suna-nins started to walk off without a backward glance. Naruto was really glad it hadn't come to a fight, but something felt off about it. '_What do you think we came to Konoha to do?_' and '_We didn't come here to play around._' were what that Gaara-kid had said. They might be legally in the village and everything, but if they weren't and Naruto didn't do a thing to stop them… jail would be the least of his worries.

"Hey!" The trio stopped, but didn't turn back. "Just to be clear, you guys got passports?" They did turn at that, but the first two Suna-nins looked rather upset.

"Talk about living under a rock. Don't you know anything?" The kunoichi reached behind her and Naruto could help but tense in case it was a weapon. "Here's my passport." Relaxing again, Naruto narrowed his eyes. It was a bit of a distance, and he couldn't make the enter thing out despite his enhanced vision, but it looked legit.

"Ah." Giving them a nod of acknowledgement, Naruto decided he'd had enough. The other two probably had passports as well, and if they were here for trouble, he'd done enough that he wouldn't get killed for 'disregard of duty'.

"Che. Damn brat." If the blonde ever met that purple-jerk outside of the village he'd make sure to give him a good pounding.

"Don't start. I'll kill you… or he will." '_Huh?'_ Naruto's thoughts on different ways to pound the purple-jerk stopped as he caught that comment.

"W-What? W-Who are you talking about G-Gaara. That brat?" Kankoru's voice went from that frighten warble that he had when Gaara first arrived back to that arrogant sneer he seemed to normally use.

"I'm interested in him," was the last thing he heard from the Suna-nin's 'boss' as he turned the corner and started to dash towards the academy where he hoped Konohamaru and his friends had gone for help.

-Scene Break-

Sakura sighed as she rolled up the latest scroll she was reading. The entire afternoon in the shinobi library gave only a few references to the chuunin exams. She knew that sensitive information would not be store in the public library, but hours of searching had turned up less than she thought.

It was held twice a year.

Villages took turns on a rotating basis to host the exams.

The tradition of holding exams was established less than a decade ago in an effort to minimize wars.

The exam was not the only way to make chuunin rank. In fact, only one or two of all applicants would be passes – if any at all.

There were three parts: The first eliminated 50-70 of all applicants. The second eliminated all but a handful and held and average of 40 fatalities for those that participated. The third was a public tournament of elimination.

The third exam was held one month after the initial two where high end clients and politicians would see the 'quality' of the villages participating, boosting commissions of whichever village performed well.

As she walked down the street towards home, Sakura wondered about Kakashi's surprise recommendation this morning. All her training schedules had been aimed at taking the exams in three years. The average age of chuunin promotion was 19 but she knew that with the last living member of a high end clan, Team 7 would be expected to be better than 'average'. The trio had already completed an A-rank mission where an ordinary team would have been decimated.

'_But to be nominated this early…'_ There was no way Kakashi expected them to pass. Their instructor had taught them a lot of taijutsu in the last month, but he shouldn't know of their other studies. _'Even if he did, we aren't ready for promotion.'_ Due to her efforts of exposing the boys to more and more powerful genjutsu, Sakura estimated her illusion abilities to be just shy of Chuunin. She wasn't allowed access to anything high than a mid-level C-class jutsu. The boys could dispel all of the ones she's done, but weren't as quick as detecting them as she would like. They hadn't even touched ninjutsu training since coming back from Wave, unless practicing what they knew and building up their chakra reserves. The boys had done well with Kakashi's lessons, but Sakura was still lacking in that area.

_'So why would he nominate us for an exam that we wouldn't pass.'_ She felt like this was the bell test all over again, but Sakura didn't want to believe that their teacher wanted them to go through a highly dangerous exam just to see where they were at.

"Sakura."

Her musings were cut short as she heard Sasuke's voice. Turning to her left, the genin froze as she caught sight of her teammate. "Sasuke?" She couldn't help the level of disbelief in her voice. Standing, hands in his pockets, slouched arrogantly against a building with a smug grin on his face, her friend looked every inch 'the Uchiha Heir'.

"Would you walk with me?" His voice was the same low monotone he used in public, but Sakura couldn't help but think something was wrong. There wasn't anyone else on the street and she was going to be meeting up with him and Naruto right after dinner. When he started walking towards the training ground without an answer she hesitantly started to follow.

'_If it was an emergency he would have let me know. ANBU uses hand signals, but not the same as ours. I'm sure some signs are universal, but I doubt many use a touch to their forehead as a sign of danger. If there wasn't anything urgent it could wait for after dinner.'_ Something wasn't adding up. _'And his attitude… He's acting like before he found us again. Is someone watching? But why wouldn't he signal that?'_ There were nearing the edge of the village. It was feeling more and more like a trap. Sakura started to let out her chakra senses.

A single presence on the roof top was the only thing she felt – but she could see Sasuke right in front of her. _'Bushin.'_ Why would someone want to use a bushin on her? _'A prank?' _Not feeling any sort of danger from the roof top presence, but worried about the lack of other people – Sakura decided to play along for a moment. She walked in silence until they nearly reached the three posts set up for training ground 4.

Fog was spread across the area, and it had to be by jutsu given the hour. The presence she sensed earlier had dashed across to the trees in front of her, too fast for a normal genin. Still, she felt like she knew that mysterious presence's chakra. Cursing herself for not memorizing more than her teammates and instructor's chakra, the bookworm decided to spring the trap before they went any closer to the tree line.

In her best 'fan-girl' voice Sakura decided to leave the topic up to her opponent. "Umm… Sasuke-kun?"

The Saskue-bushin walked a few more steps before stopping. "Sakura. Give up on the Chuunin Exam. It's still impossible for you."

'_Another team trying to lower the competition?'_ That would make sense, after all, if Sakura didn't enter the exam, her teammates couldn't either. Acting dejected, Sakura sighed. "I guess so…"

"The Chuunin Exam is full of skilled ninjas. If you do poorly, you may die." As the bushin turned Sakura had to admit whoever had made it knew Sasuke's public expressions well. But they must not have spoken with him often. Even back in the Academy, if the Uchiha-heir had cared one way or another whether she took the test too early; he would not have used those words. Still, if she was infatuated with him…

"Sasuke-kun! You were worried about me?" Fan-girl or no fan-girl act, there was no way Sakura could force herself squeal in delight. It didn't seem to matter as the bushin turned around fully and gave a gentle smile.

"Well… yes." With such un-Sasuke like behavior, which anyone in the village could point out, Sakura was grateful when another figure appeared on top of one of the training posts in a burst of 'villian-like' laughter. Complemented Sasuke on the touching seen and suddenly the Sasuke-bushin looked like Sasuke again.

She watched the two illusions threaten each other and wondered why the presence that had lured her out here left just as he started this genjutsu. Having wasted enough time Sakura dispelled the rather tacky fight scene and started back. She'd talk to the boys about it after she ate dinner with her mom. In the meantime the kunoichi wanted to figure out if they really should enter the exam in six days. Knowing that any other genin would jump at the chance meant they probably would, despite her misgivings. _'So what do I need to make sure we know before hand?'_

-Scene Break-

When the first day of the Exam arrived, Sasuke couldn't have been happier. Sakura had reverted to full 'Hermione-pre-exam' mode. Naruto and he couldn't learn fast enough for her. She had tried to cram as much info on the foreign villages as she could find. He tried to only remember what he thought was important, but when Sakura when into a lecture on the types of crops Lightning country produced and how it effect the hidden village of Cloud's ninja rates she still expected you to answer her pop quiz at the end.

They were given yesterday evening off, but Sasuke hadn't been able to relax. Due to both his teammates staying at his house for the last six days with no breaks he hadn't been able to training his wandless magic and didn't want to wait until the end of exam after all the progress he had made. Before Wave it hadn't been a high priority. Chakra was the power everyone used, not magic. Despite summoning a kunai to prove that the dreams he was having were real, the Uchiha-heir hadn't done a single bit of magic. That had cost him when he tried to use a shield on Kakashi.

Magic seemed to be like a muscle. The more you worked it the more you could use it. There was a set limit on what you could do, but while a wandless shield took a bit of power, Sasuke wouldn't have collapsed back during the war. Everytime Sakura had given them a 'night-off' he'd practice his wandless magic. His friends had never been able to do it despite his coaching at Hogwarts. It wasn't like he was hiding it, he just didn't want them to feel bad.

'_It doesn't hurt that it allows me to keep training and Sakura can't prove that I didn't follow her schedule.'_ While he could understand her reasoning, Sasuke didn't feel right if he wasn't training somehow. Agreeing to wait before fighting his brother was one thing, not training as much as he could in order confront Itachi as soon as possible was another. _'Even if I'm not in danger, I can't take the risk he'll do the same things again. If he can kill his own family for a dumb reason like 'proving himself' he could kill anyone at anytime.'_

Trying to kick himself out of his dark thought, Sasuke spent the rest of the morning kicking Naruto out of bed and playing a game of catch at Naruto's insistence. The fact that their version consisted of randomly thrown kunai that had to be caught rather than blocked made the game tolerable. Without Sakura the boys could get up to six kunai at decent speeds going back and forth.

They stopped at lunch and grabbed a quick shower with a lightly tree-scented soap. Sasuke snorted as he remembered Sakura's reasoning. _'After all, even scent-less soap had its own unique scent, but if you smelled like your surroundings you could trick a lower level tracker.'_ The kunoichi always seemed to know the little things that really made a difference in a pinch. After double checking their gear the two met up with Sakura in front of the Academy and braced for whatever might be ahead of them.

All three of them exchanged looks when they came to the second floor. The stairway was blocked 'due to construction'. As they entered the hallway they immediately noticed a group of people blocking the way to the other stairway. A few feet away from the crowd, Sasuke felt a light brush of chakra accompanied by a feeling of 'this is where I should be.' He shook the feeling off easily, but with all the hopeful-chuunins cramming in front of a doorway getting past unnoticed wouldn't work.

The sound of a fist hitting flesh gave him enough of an excuse to push his way forward with Sakura and Naruto following. It seemed two kids were blocking the doorway, their chakra pushing outwards and projecting danger. About half the original crowd seemed to disappear as some Genin took head of the 'you should quit warning' one of the self-proclaimed guards had uttered.

As a girl in pink was knocked back towards a boy in green already on the floor, Sasuke tried to figure out a way to get by this without drawing every eye. He knew because of Sakura's constant drilling that no one would be killed in the first test, but standing out was only asking to be targeted in the second portion of the exam. With death as 40 outcome Sasuke wasn't about to take his changes. But the only way clear was just behind the team getting chewed out or walking between the team and the two 'guards'. With a few exchanged hand signals and no better plan, Sasuke sighed and stepped up to draw attention to himself.

It seemed stupid, but a sudden dash might provoke the guards, using chakra to go across by wall and ceiling would be arrogantly displaying their skills, and just walking by so close to the main attraction would automatically get everyone's notice. With only ten minutes before the deadline and no knowledge if there would be more 'delays' Team 7 couldn't afford to just wait this out.

"Oi. Get out of the way." Sasuke had no problem displaying annoyance, the hard part was keeping the 'I'm-too-cool' attitude. Despite having acted like that for years since the massacre, in hindsight it just seemed stupid. Every time he put on the 'Uchiha-heir' mask instead of the 'indifferent' mask he felt like he had a giant sign over his head say 'wanna-be Malfoy here'.

"Oh. A tough guy. If you want to get pass, just try." The bandana-clad ninja smirk as the spiky-haired on tensed up. Ignoring them, Sasuke glared at the two ninja's that had 'fallen' to the floor. There were no signed of a heavy hit on either one of them, and he had clearly seen the kunoichi being punched in the face. To be knocked back that far with a single hit would have left signs of a bruise starting at the very least. If they were tough enough not to bruise from a powerful punch, it wouldn't have thrown them back. _'Drawing attention and making everyone think you're weaklings…'_ It would have been admirable if it hadn't caused Team 7 such trouble getting by.

At the sight of the Hyuuga standing by them, obviously the third member, the Uchiha's glare intensified. He had to hold the instinctive flare of chakra to his eyes that seemed to come everytime he was seriously annoyed. _'No use showing everyone the Sharingan when no one besides Kakashi and the Hokage know I've activated it.' _

"Move." The two guards where sharing confused glances as were the two on the ground. He couldn't read the Hyuuga well, but he thought the kid was a bit annoyed more than anything. As no one seemed to want to do anything but stare at one another, Sasuke upped the ante. "If you want to get beat up, do it on your own time. The exam starts soon."

That comment annoyed the kunoichi, but the guy in green spandex seemed to be staring over his shoulder at Sakura with a dreamy gaze in his eyes. Giving a slight shudder, Sasuke hoped his friend the best with her new suitor. "You sure talk big. Is that all you can do?" The spiky-haired guard charged him at a decent speed, but even as he brought a knee up to block the strike he noticed the green-clad genin speeding forward and hopped backwards instead. Rather than attacking him as well, the strange genin blocked the guard's kick and seemed surprised that Sasuke had jumped rather than continue the block.

The guard backed down rather quickly for someone so eager to fight, but everyone was watching the boy who had just been knocked down a few moments earlier. Sasuke watched the guards slip into the background as the Hyuuga started reprimanding his teammate for breaking with the plan. The Uchiha wished his team could do the same, but as soon as the green-genin started staring at Sakura with a determined blush-filled face, all attention seemed to be directed at her.

It only took half a minute for this annoying genin to ask his teammate out and get rejected, but all these delays were really starting to grate on Sasuke's nerves. They had to take a test that none of them really wanted to, knowing that they weren't going to be passed even if they survived until the end. His training was on hold for however long this exam took, and to top it off, it looked like just taking the test wasn't enough, but there were obstacles on the way in and this other team was making it three times more difficult.

"Hey, you…" Glancing back to the Hyuuga, Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. "What's you name?" In the short time he had let himself brood, the guards had disappeared, the doorway they were guarding was open, and most of the genin were either gone or discussing something in small huddles, Sasuke had enough of humoring anyone.

"If you don't know, your information gathering skills are woefully lacking." Ignoring the look of outrage on the Hyuuga's face, the wizard-turned-shinobi gestured to his teammates. "The way's clear, let's go."

The three walked by the other leaf-genin team, heading for the opposite stairwell. Noticing another 'under construction' sign with crates stacked in a seamless wall blocking the way up, the Uchiha-heir decided it wasn't worth it. Sticking his hand to one of the crates with chakra he pulled it out, straining a bit from the weight. It must have been filled with rocks, or weights. Letting it drop with a crash, the way was clear enough to hop up and over the blockade.

"Sasuke. You alright mate?" Giving Naruto a slight grin, he started up to the third floor.

"Just getting tired of jumping through hoops. Nothing to worry about."

Sakura caught up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You could have let one of us handle it."

He shook his head as the reached the third floor landing. "If anyone noticed _the_ Uchiha Sasuke following either the 'know-it-all' or 'that-damned-boy' it'd cause us trouble later on." She grimaced in distaste, but didn't argue the fact. After all, Uchiha were supposed to be elite shinobi, born leaders, not followers.

Team 7 stopped short as they caught sight of their instructor in front of room 301. _'Another test?'_

"Ah… so you all came." Cocking his head to the side, Sasuke waited to see what Kakashi was up to now. "As Sakura _kindly_ pointed out when I gave you the applications, this test can only be taken by teams of three. But did you all come by your own will?"

The copy-nin paused for a moment before looking at the sole kunoichi of Team 7. "Sakura," She gave him a reassuring grin. "Naruto," With a nod, the blonde crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in a confident stance. "And Sasuke."

Want to shake his head in exasperation, the Uchiha-heir just smirked. 'Did you really think we'd be here for any other reason? We may not want to take the test, but we all decided we would. You better not back out on us now.'

The broad grin Kakashi gave could be seen through his face mask. "Well done. You guys are my proud team." He stepped aside, leaving the way clear to the double doors to classroom 301. "Now go!"

Shaking his head for real this time, Sasuke opened the door and let his teammates go in ahead of him. Just before he followed them he turned back to his instructor. "We all know it's too early for us to be Chuunin, but if you want to know what were made of, we'll show you. Just don't forget – we'll never let one of us stand alone again." Warning made just incase this was all a ploy by the village council to promote the Uchiha-heir alone, Sasuke entered the exam room.


	8. Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Sakura didn't sense anyone near the door, but all the people further in seemed to be pushing out a small amount of 'killing intent'. If it was all directed to one person, it'd be a rather intimidating. As of now, it just gave her a headache. Everyone glanced back as team seven entered, and Sakura lowered her senses a bit. If there was any danger, she wouldn't be able to tell it from all that ambient 'killing intent'.

"Sasuke-kun. You're so late!" Sakura turned just in time to see Ino try to leap onto Sasuke as he closed the door behind him. A simple side step by the Uchiha-heir and Ino had to hop a few steps before regaining her balance. "So cold! I haven't seen you in a while, so I've been waiting in excitement!" Ino tried to look cute and inviting, but it just came off as rather idiotic.

Shaking her head, Sakura interrupted before Sasuke had to use violence to keep the rabid fan-girl back. "Ino-pig. If there's anything scarier than your face right now, I'd be hard pressed to find it."

"Ah, if it isn't Sakura. I guess you haven't looked in mirror lately, forehead-girl." Delivered in that saccharine-sweet tone, Sakura had to clench a fist to avoid responding in time. In front of all these examinees, many from different villages, and only a few minutes before the first test started was not a good time to start a cat fight.

Luckily Shikamaru came to her rescue. "What… are you guys taking this stupid test too?" Just nodding in response, Sakura followed her teammates away from the door against the back wall to wait for the test to start. Shikamaru started grumbling as Choji kept snacking on chips. It was nice to see familiar faces again. She hadn't seen the lazy Nara or chubby Akimichi since the teams were started.

"Ah ha! Found you!" Turning to catch site of Inuzuka Kiba she wondered why he couldn't have matured a bit like her blonde teammate had. Loud and annoying, the only reason he hadn't been labeled the trouble maker of the year was due to Naruto. "Well, well, everyone's together."

Akamaru, Kiba's dog partner, hadn't seemed to grow much over the last three months. Their teammate Aburame Shino didn't look any different either. Hinata seemed to be hiding behind both boys, but by leaning slightly to the left she could catch a glimpse at the Hyuuga-heir. By the large blush and constant quick glances in the direction of Naruto, Sakura figured the white-eyed girl still had a crush on her friend. _'Some things change and some stay the same.'_

From all she had learned about the Hyuuga clan since graduating made Hinata even stranger than when she attended the academy with her. After all, weren't Hyuuga supposed to be confident and arrogant – like the Uchiha? _'I suppose everyone is different, but if she's the heir… well, everyone's human.' _

"Geez… you guys too?" With a sound of disgust, Shikamaru gave a slight shake of his head.

"I see. All 9 of this year's rookie genin are taking the exam. I wonder how far we will get… Eh, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura had to stifle a laugh at how cool Kiba was trying to act.

"You seem confident, Kiba." Luckily Sasuke was going to play nice. After that bit in the hall with the other genin team, the kunoichi was worried that her dark-haired friend was a bit too stressed.

'_He probably didn't rest last night like I told him too. It's always training with him.'_

Kiba seemed to echo her thoughts. "We did a lot of training. We won't loose to you."

"Just stay alive long enough to prove it." Naruto was leaning against the wall next to Sasuke and didn't bother to open his eyes to see Kiba's response. Sakura noted that the Inuzuka seemed surprised but not offended. _'Maybe he did grow up a bit.'_

"Hey, you guys." A tall silver-haired genin was walking up to them. "You should be quieter. You're the rookie nine, just out of the academy, right? Screaming like school girls. Geez, this isn't a picnic you know."

"Who do you think you are?" Ino demanded.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto. But instead of that, you should look around you." Sakura only took a quick glance, but knew right away what this guy was aiming at. The entire room was staring at the group. _'It didn't help that Kabuto just announced we're complete rookies. They probably think we're perfect targets now.'_

"Those guys behind you are from the Hidden Rain. They have short tempers." With Team 7's back to the wall, Sakura had a perfect few of the group Yakushi was talking about. They didn't seem happy at all with the silver-haired genin's comments. _'Can't this guy shut up? We'll have everyone in this room gunning for us before the exam even starts. Since he's a Konoha ninja as well, any comment he makes will automatically be linked to us.' _"Everyone is nervous about the exam. I thought I'd quiet you down before you caused a scene."

"More like take advantage of the situation and watch everyone target the 'rookies' while you stay in the shadows." In a glance, Sasuke picked up where she was going with this.

"Is your team really that weak? Why don't you stop making the scene you were afraid we were going to cause and run back to your teammates?" The Uchiha-heir was spot on and a look of shock passed across Yakushi's face before he wiped it clean with a soft smile.

"No need to get jumpy. You guys just remind me of how I used to be. I wanted to give you a hand before you got in trouble."

Sasuke's snort of amusement carried his sarcasm perfectly. "So you've done this before?"

"Yes."

"Is this you second time?" Sakura questioned.

"Nope. My seventh try." The dramatic pause was classic. This entire scene seemed completely contrived. "This exam is only held twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

"Which means you have the skill to avoid death, but not to pass. Thank you for proving my fist point. Go back to you teammates." Uchiha-heir persona was in fine form today.

"Man is the exam that hard? Tch. What a pain in the ass." Shikamaru slouched a bit further and Sakura was grateful someone was helping them out a bit. Kabuto had done enough damage; the faster he was gone the better. _'But getting in a fight, even a verbal one would be bad.'_

"Hey, now. Calm down a bit. I just wanted to share some info with you cute rookies."

"So now were cute rookies, not… what was the term he used Sakura?"

"Screaming school girls."

"Ah, that one. Go away Yakushi. Any information you shared wouldn't be from a trustworthy source, and frankly I tire of hearing your voice." Sasuke leaned back against the wall in eerie imitation of the Sasuke-bushin three days ago. Closing his eyes, the Uchiha-heir was giving perfect signals that the conversation was over.

Sakura decided to add a bit more to that and struck up a conversation with Ino on how the flower-shop was doing and the rest of the rookies followed suit. They ignored the single attempt from Yakushi to continue the conversation and most of the room seemed to have turned their attention to the silver-haired genin rather than the rookie nine.

'_Problem solved.'_ If only the rest of the exam worked as well.

_Author's Note: Just to let everyone know that I've decided on shorter chapters with sooner updates. I've cleaned this scene up a bit and you should see chapter nine posted as well. For the curious readers wondering why I fell of the face of the earth… I'm not the fastest writer in the first place, and this Orochimaru fight is rather key to the rest of the plot. I've seen several rather well thought out ideas and guesses of what could happen with the snake sennin. Myself – I've had to rewrite the next scene several times. The most time consuming was when (twice) I've been nearly done with the entire Forest of Death and decided that wasn't the route I wanted to take. As I'm still cleaning up the rest of the Forest of Death chapters, I decided to give everyone the long await chuunin exam instead of forcing you to wait even longer._


	9. Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

"Call out!" Sasuke scanned the forest, wondering who the enemy would be.

"Here." Sakura landed next to him, one hand casually clasped around an imaginary book.

"Here." Naruto stood on a branch across the path the wind attack had created. One hand held a kunai with the other placed in such a way the blonde could have held a broomstick over his shoulder if they still had one on hand.

Sasuke used his free hand to push non-existant glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Any ideas?"

"Smells like snake." Naruto's eyes were narrowed, his nose scrunched in distaste. Sasuke's gaze hardened as he automatically tried to hear any quiet hissing he might have missed.

"There's a chakra signature twenty meters down. It's pretty high for a genin. Genjutsu?" A low chuckle raised the hairs on Sasuke's neck. A figure emerged from the shadows of the forest: long hair, plain clothes, large brimmed straw hat, and average height for a man in his twenties. The only thing that made him stand out was a thick purple-dyed rope wrapped around him with a large knot in back.

"Not too bad for three little children." The figure lowered his hat to reveal a grass forehead protector and a slender face with bleak eyes. The feminine voice and features led to confusion on the ninja's gender, but every instinct that Sasuke had told him that whatever else this enemy may be, he was extremely dangerous.

He gave a quick signal and the three genin split and ran, Naruto making bushin to cover their retreat. The loud pops of displaced air made it hard for Sasuke to track the directions of his teammate's retreat, but he trusted them to get back to their rendezvous site on their own. After getting through the first exam with flying colors, Team 7 had decided to try and flunk out of the second exam if they could. Their main priority was to survive.

The rather loud hissed complaining of being woken up too soon was the only warning the Uchiha had to dodge a fanged-toothed mouth large enough to swallow him whole. Pausing to see if his friends had made it clear caused him to stop in shock. A snake large enough to rival the basilisk from second year destroyed clone after clone in a matter of seconds. One of the Narutos was knocked in to a tree hard enough to dispel a shadow clone, but the figure dropped to the ground instead. The snake had noticed the limp figure as well and lunged for its prey.

"No!" Sasuke leaped for his friend only to change course to dodge a handful of kunai. Using chakra to stick to a tree trunk, he only spared a glance at the grass-nin to verify no follow-up attack was coming. Instead, he watched Naruto roll away from the snake and push himself off the ground in a less than graceful arch to reach a low branch before continuing to retreat upwards.

_Stupid human. Stay still so I can eat you and go back to my sun-nap._ The casual grumbling was so at odds with the vicious house-sized snake giving chase to his friend that Sasuke was off-kilter for a single moment. It was all the time the grass-nin needed.

The raven-haired genin dodged the first fist by a hair's breath. A flurry of strikes left him no time to counter let alone escape. It took him several minutes before he realized a flaw in his opponent's attack pattern. _'He's not aiming for vital spots.'_ Another minute of dodging and blocking confirmed his observation. It reminded him of how he sparred against Sakura and Naruto. _'He's testing me!'_

Too late to hide much of his skill, Sasuke gradually started to lower his reaction time. It only took a few minutes before the grass-nin landed an open palm hit to his side that flung him off the branch they were fighting on. Somersaulting in the air he grabbed another branch and flipped him self over to another thick branch – idly wondering if the overly large trees were the reason this forest had been chosen for the exam.

Feigning exhaustion, Sasuke staggered to his feet. Not daring to look away from his opponent, he tried to sense his teammates during the breather he had been given.

"Is this all that's left of the great Uchiha clan." The genin tensed as the grass-nin reached behind him and resisted relaxing as his opponent pulled out a black scroll. "You want our 'earth' scroll, right? Since your team has the 'heaven' scroll, of course…" The wizard turned ninja watched in horrified fascination as the grass-nin stuck out an overly large tongue that was way too long to be normal. Opening his jaw impossible-wide, the grass-nin slowly lifted the scroll as if he intended to swallow it.

A kunai speeding through the place the enemy's head used to be left it a mystery whether the ninja would have actually been able to or not. As the ninja leapt for a new perch, the black scroll was ripped out of his hand by an invisible force. Sakura with her brightly-clothed henge dispelled caught it and gave Sasuke an 'all okay' signal.

"You should have tried something new. We've already done the big assed snake thing." Naruto's brash voice gave away his location, letting their attacker know he was surrounded on all three sides.

"Is this supposed to impress me?" Sasuke caught Naruto's eye and signaled another retreat – with a decoy. The blonde gritted his teeth, but signal agreement. "Running away didn't work. I wonder what you'll try this time, Sasuke-kun."

The low chuckle was really grating on the nerves, but the Uchiha ignored it in favor of confirming the plan with Sakura. The kunoichi disagreed, but he cut off a long silent debate by indicating he would escape by apparition. With a surprised look, she agreed to the plan. '_I wonder if she even thought of trying to apparate before.'_ He gave a last nod to his teammates and watched the grass-nin as they dashed away.

"Such a noble act. Sacrificing yourself to save your teammates. But tell me Sasuke-kun, how do you know I won't go after those two runaways?"

A short snort was the only answer the raven-haired genin was willing to give. The fact that the grass-nin seemed in no hurry to move any time soon confirmed his theory. "Why are you after me?"

"Kukukuku… Such cute prey. Why would I ever be after you? Sa-su-ke-kun." The nonchalant stance, the superiority complex, the annoying laughter, not to mention the mocking familiar tone this ninja gave his name. Everything was too much like de-ja-vu for his liking. Experience told him this was the 'let-my-evil-brilliance-shine-as-you-are-too-short-sighted-to-see-my-wonderful-plot' moment. The Uchiha heir decided to indulge him. '_Maybe I can get some answers.'_

"You don't seem to care that we got your scroll. If it had been a fake, you would have at least made an attempt to get it back so we wouldn't suspect." Sasuke shifted his stance for easier footing, keeping up the act that he was more exhausted than truth. "I've been out of the village once my life – it can't be revenge over something I did to you. Maybe a relative?" The low chuckle and smug grin threw the best possible scenario out the window. _'Drat. That would leave…'_

"Too bad. You want the Sharingan. Don't you know? The 'last Uchiha' is a failure. If you knew I was participating in the exam, I'm sure you would have picked that tidbit up." It was a vain hope, but he still wished this grass-nin would just go away.

"Ah, but Sasuke-kun. They say the Sharingan is often activated when the user is in a life threatening situation..." His voice was a low sibilant his. The relaxed and amused feeling the grass-nin gave off was gone in an instant. The ninja didn't move, but those bleak dark eyes seemed to swallow him. "Shall we test that theory?"

A sword ran him through before a kunai tore out his throat.

A fire jutsu burned him alive right after skeletal hands choked the life out of him.

It took all his strength to fend off the images of death. The terror he felt was far more than he had ever felt in Voldemort's presence. _'I need to leave, now!'_

Pumping more chakra through is system to ward off the killing-intent, Sasuke met the grass-nin's eyes, wondering when he had ever lowered them. In a horse voice he let one last taunt go, "Maybe next time."

With a quick kawari, Sasuke was on the ground. Wasting no time, he activated his Sharingan and used his enhance his sight and picked a location that was as far as he could make out clearly. Several apparitions later and he was out of breath, but with enough distance placed between him and that crazy ninja to feel safe.

Leaning against a tree, he let go of his sharingan and the semi-permanent henge he still maintained before suppressing his chakra. The grass-nin might have been out of his sensing range, but he would bet that ninja had better senses than Sakura.

'_What was he? Jounin? Why would a grass jounin be after the Sharingan?'_ Grass wasn't a village that put high priority on blood lines. He wouldn't have been as confused if it had been a cloud-nin. Even a stone-nin might have been understandable after the Leaf-Stone war. _But Grass?_

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Thank you for saving us the trouble of finding you - Uchiha Sasuke." As the Uchiha heir glanced at the three sound-nins surrounding him, he had two simultaneous thoughts that had nothing to with how he was going to get out of this mess or his stupidity in letting his guard down in hostile territory.

'_Now Sound? What's next, the village of Sand?'_ along with _'Why is it always me?'_


	10. Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

Two minutes and Sakura broke.

"We shouldn't have left him."

"Too late. We go back now and any plan he's got is ruined. Besides, have you practiced apparating yet?" Naruto shook his head at the shear simplicity Sasuke's plans usually took. "I didn't even think about that since coming here. We hardly left school grounds after getting our licenses. With my messed-up animagus transformation, I'd hate to see what my apparation skills are like."

"Your animagus form is linked with your soul, which is currently bound to a powerful demon lord. Apparation uses magic to phase your body out of real space and shifts your location before forcefully re-entering the current plane of existence. The noise associated with apparation is from the displaced air and can be softened depending on control."

Naruto smiled as he listened to his teammate's explanation. It never failed. In either life, the best way to get her away from worrying is to get her to lecture about something complicated. "Right. But neither of you were splinched when learning back at Hogwarts." 'Back at Hogwarts' had become their catch phrase of their previous life rather than their actual time at school.

"Your dad was the one that put you back together, not a healer. I could do it with a wand. It's just a matter of aligning your previous state of being with the slightly altered magic signature of your apparated self. Phasing out of existence seems to change the frequency of the energy-"

"That's fine. You don't have a wand, so it doesn't really matter. I doubt Sasuke could fix splinching even if he understood the theory behind it. I'll stick to kawamari jutsu." _'Plan distract Sakura is a complete success. You owe me big time Sasuke.'_

"But you have only a limited distance with kawamari, where any place you can completely visualize works with apparation. I wonder if the theory applies to kawamari jutsu as well, but with the addition of physical energy it limits to how much your body and endure rather the strength of your magic reserves. Most of the explanations in the Academy focused on the actual swap between the body and object, not how the swap occurs without actually moving in real space."

"You think we go 'out of phase' with kawamari? But it doesn't feel like you're being suck through a straw, more like a dizzy spin before 'poof' your where the log was."

"I think we do, but with a different method. After all chakra is physical and spiritual energy combined, which makes it more complicated in magic in a lot of ways. We know that the spiritual side is actually magic which is why not everyone can be a ninja."

"So why didn't we use chakra before?"

"Wizards weren't too big on physical exertion, you know that. I have to wonder if something happened to all the wands and wand makers and chakra became the new way of magic. While more complicated in some ways, and rather limiting what you can do, by mixing magic with physical energy, it eliminates the typical need for a wand to regulate a persons magic. The fact that most uses for chakra are for war, might mean the magical community was at war when this occurred.

"There were several schools of thought in the muggle world that martial art masters could control their body's energy for defensive, offensive, or just general health purposes. It was called ki or chi depending on the discipline. Most people believed it to be legend or myth."

"Like how muggles thought magic wasn't real."

"Exactly. It gives more credence to my thought that we're in the far future rather than an alaternate world. The problem is how far. Most historical records only date back a couple of generations. Konoha was founded 122 years ago, which isn't a long time considering we had to study at least a thousand years of magical history at Hogwarts and the muggle world had historical texts on time periods much further back than that. Ninjas also exited during that time period, but not in the same sense as the current shinobi. Some overlap could-"

Sakura's thoughts were cut off as Naruto stopped and signaled for silence. Taking another breath the blonde's hear sank. _'Blood and Sand. Gaara. Save there's more blood than sand this time. He must have just killed._' They were close to the clearing where Team Seven would regroup. Exactly in the direction he could smell the sand-nin.

Signaling to Sakura, he kept watch as she closed her eyes and scanned ahead of them. The kunoichi was getting better at keeping her detailed senses open while fighting, but the initial start always seemed to take more out of her, and she couldn't keep it up for long.

Eight ahead, one hostile with high power. After confirming that none were Sasuke or the grass-nin they left behind, he debated on waiting until the group cleared out on their own. _'No. Sasuke should have been there by now. He could show up any second.'_ Dropping to the ground he made his way towards the clearing, suppressing his chakra as Kakashi had taught them. Without their henge or tree-hopping, the group ahead shouldn't suspect them. His half-animagus state caught a slight shift in the wind. The sharp taste of blood was muted, but the distinct smell of dog added a new level of worry.

'_Gaara and Kiba. Great. Bloody asshole better keep his mouth shut.'_ Picking up the pace he signaled possible allies under fire back to Sakura. Hearing the make-up boy and Gaara ahead, he hoped Kiba had kept hidden and none of the Sand-nin had decent noses. If he could smell them this far away, the wind was not in favor of the Inuzuki.

"-listen to what your older brother says once in a while?" Slowing down, Naruto spied a convenient bush that would cover him. Signaling Sakura to stay as back-up, he crept forward.

"I've never thought of you two as siblings. If you get in my way, I'll kill you." A grunt and Naruto could see the three sand-nins in the clearing. Temari was off to the side as Kanko-something was backing away from Gaara. The redhead reached forward to Kanko who gave a pleading look to the blonde girl.

"Gaara, stop. Don't be so cold. This is your big sister asking you, okay?" A short moment and Gaara's hand continued to move, now stretched straight out from his body instead of in front of him.

'_Kiba's over there. Hinata too.'_ Gaara's hand went from a relaxed fist to opened palm and the two sand siblings' breath seemed caught in their lungs. Preparing himself to attack if needed, Naruto watched as the smallest sand-nin's hand began to clench.

"Gaara!" Temari's panicked scream almost sent him into the clearing, but there was not indication of an attack. Gaara held something in his hand and used it to stopper the gourd on his back.

"I understand." Turning sharply, Gaara led the way out of the clearing.

'_Shit. We should have circled around.'_ Naruto and Sakura were nearly on the straight path to the tower. The sand-nins would pass no more than ten feed from his position. Scrambling for better cover would only attract attention. A moving object in the corner of your eye makes a good ninja want to investigate.

Gaara seemed to have better eyes than most. The small slow motion of his warning signal to Sakura brought the short ninja's head around to stare right at Naruto. Knowing nothing would save him, the blond glared right back and pretended he wasn't feeling a hurricane of butterflies in his stomach. And that trickle of sweat sliding down the back of his neck was only because of the autumn heat.

This guy gave him the chills that reminded him of Bellatrix Lestrange. If it came to a fight he'd make sure Gaara's full attention was on himself. Kiba and Hinata were still on the other side of the clearing, which meant Shino was probably around somewhere. Sakura could get some help from Team Eight and take care of the other two, but Gaara – everything about the guy screamed 'predator.'

Surprisingly, he was steadily gaining confidence. Worry about fighting this blood tainted genin slipped away. His body was saying 'This man is a danger to our pack,' 'This man threatens me and mine,' 'This man will not live long. Let him come.'

A low rumble started in his chest and a slight snarl twisted his face. _'Just try it raccoon-boy. That blood lust won't last you long if you wish to challenge me now. I don't have time to play, but if it's a fight you want, you'll get far more than that.'_

Gaara frowned so slight he would have missed it if he wasn't intently studying his opponent. The sand-nin looked ahead and continued on his way. "Mother's had enough blood today. She'll enjoy yours another time." The quiet murmur easily reached his ears, but he did not take his eyes off the trio until they were completely out of sight.

**Author's note:**  
I'm looking for a beta for the next chapter (the Sasuke versus Sound-trio fight). I need someone that can not only look at the grammer and general spelling errors, but will give a good critique on the descriptive fighting. The Sasuke versus Orochimaru fight was rather rushed as I was more trying to get it posted than quality, but the two largest complaints were the shortness of the chapter and the lack of description in the fight. I think I did better but would like a beta to run it through before posting. Please E-mail 'sangelide-at-todandlorna-dot-com' with the subject "Reclaiming Life Beta" in the subject line by November 29th, 2007 if you are interested. I'd like to get the beta a copy on the 30th and have it back by the 31st. It will be posted on December 1st, 2007, so if you can not meet this deadline, please use include the word "future" in the subject line if you still want to be a beta.


	11. Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dodging another air blast from the wind user, Sasuke glanced at his ally, only to grimace in disappointment. The green-clad genin had appeared shortly after the sound-nin attacked, shouting something about protecting his beloved's precious teammate along with a litany of 'if I can't, I'll do's' that made no sense to the wizard turned shinobi. Now he was faced against the wind-user and the kunoichi while the other leaf-nin took on the bandaged ninja.

The slight distraction gave the wind user another opening, forcing Sasuke to tumble out of the way. The kunoichi's follow-up was predictable. A few quick rolls and he was clear enough to push off from the ground and jump back. His two opponents were good at tag-teaming, whenever he closed to engage one, the other would use their long range attack to force him away.

Using a high backflip to evade the latest Zankuha blast, Sasuke ricocheted off one of the giant trees towards the black-haired sound-nin. He landed a few feet away from his target, but the wind user had already backed off. Spinning to avoid the incoming senbon, he dashed towards the male ninja, determined to see if his theory of their poor taijutsu skills was true. A quick succession of three windstorms pushed him back and took out a tree. The noise of it crashing through the forest towards the ground was the perfect cover to launch half a dozen kunai at the pair. But kunai are easy to spot if you know they are coming, and both sound-nin had no problem avoiding them.

He tilted his head to the left as a pair of senbon flew past him, only to flip hastily over another three aimed for his kidney. He added a few more flips to give him some breathing room before a loud shout caught the attention of his two opponents.

"Konoha Seppu." Sasuke watched the spandex clad genin out of the corner of his eye while making sure the sound-nin weren't going to use the distraction to their advantage. "That's no good," his male opponent breathed to himself. "He can't break a fall like that." With a yell, the wind user plowed his signature jutsu into the ground, just as the leaf-nin yelled the second part of his attack.

"Omote Renge." Sasuke heard a loud crunch as the green genin leapt clear at the last moment. The resultant cloud of dust dissipated quickly to reveal the bandaged ninja planted head first in a mound of dirt. Two trenches of dirt led back to the wind user where his hands were still fixed palm down on the ground. "Oh, boy… Looks like I made it in time."

The bandaged guys' legs twitched before flipping down as he leveraged his upper body out of the ground. As he crawled off the mound of dirt, Sasuke could tell he hadn't been injured nearly as badly as he should have been.

"That is a terrifying move. I was dropped onto this spongy ground, but it still hurt like hell." Shaking his head, the dazed sound-nin stood and pushed up his right sleeve to reveal an oddly shaped arm guard. "Now it's my turn."

The Uchiha realized that while the sound ninja's knees wobbled a bit, he'd probably shake it off in a moment. But the green-clad genin's chest was heaving and he looked like he had taken a few good hits to the face earlier in the fight. The two had fought evenly before, but the boy would no longer be able to take the sound-nin alone. Racing forward, Sasuke hoped to catch the bandaged guy off guard and let his ally take one of the less skilled sound-nin.

Another wind attack brought that idea to a screeching halt. He deflected a few more senbon with a kunai and altered his course toward the wind user. Finally able to close with the sound-nin, Sasuke feinted with a stab and took out the guy's feet with a leg sweep. Sacrificing a few more shuriken to keep the kunoichi busy, he managed to knee the wind guy in the face and get halfway to the bandaged-nin before the senbon girl could yell out a warning.

The green-clad genin was on his knees, arms clutching the left side of his head. The bandage covered figure started to turn to face him, but Sasuke only had a few more feet to go. The single eye visible on the sound ninja's face looked smug as the Uchiha heir avoided a rather obvious straight punch to his stomach. The eye widened in surprise as the image of the leaf-nin wavered like a wind blown sheet hanging on a line before vanishing altogether, leaving a fallen tree branch in its place.

With a quick rebound off the tree it had come from, Sasuke plowed into the sound-nin from behind and rammed a kunai into the strange armband the ninja had so proudly displayed moments earlier. Leaping back, he scooped up his disoriented ally before using a chakra powered jump to get them clear as the exploding tag on the kunai went off.

An agonized scream rang through the forest as Sasuke jumped twice more to avoid nearly a dozen senbon. Landing on the ground, he noticed two nearly invisible lines of wire on either side of him. Not sure what trap he'd had been maneuvered into, he gritted his teeth and set the other boy besided him. "How bad is it?"

He heard a grunt as his ally tried to stand again. "My body was weak from the Omote Renge, but I could still fight. Now I can't get my balance back since his last attack. He said something about sound from the armband attacking while I dodged his fist."

The gentle sounds of bells ringing behind him distracted him from further conversation as he shifted left to keep his enemies in sight while still watching for an ambush behind him. _'Is there another team, or is this part of the trap?'_

In the corner of his eye he noticed two senbon stuck in the tree behind them with small bells attached. His eyes could catch the tell-tale glint of wire coming from the bells as they rang once more. Following the most likely path led directly to the sound kunoichi, who held the wires in her right hand and two more senbon in her left. As the bells rang a third time the kunoichi's image started to blur and multiply.

Bandaged-nin's screams cut off with a wet splurch, bringing a rather intimidating silence to the clearing before the light chime of bells sounded once more and the number of kunoichi Sasuke could see increased.

"Damn. His arm and most of his torso were blown off. His screams were getting distracting." The wind ninja, all eight images of him, was walking to the kunoichi's position. Despite the rather disorienting view, Sasuke could tell the debilitating effects of the jaw strike had worn off. It was back to two on one.

'_First the genjustu.'_ Snapping out a kunai in each hand he used a broad motion to cut down with one and up with the other. He saw multiple strings, but felt a snag as two wires were caught, but didn't snap. The jangling sound of bells sent the world spinning for a moment and he had to take a step back to catch his balance, before ducking under the attack he hoped the kunoichi would send. Feeling the senbon fly dangerously close to his face, he thanked whatever deity still had some mercy left that the wind guy hadn't used one of those Zankuha attacks.

Straightening back up, the Uchiha heir used the momentum to spin on one foot and slam his heel into the tree near two of the bell-senbon. Expelling chakra from his foot to create a crater in the bark, he let the backlash push him past his ally, conjured a wandless shield, and braced for whatever retaliation the sound-nin would send. Sure enough, a large torrent of wind slammed into his shield and he grunted with the effort to keep it stable. _'I knew I wasn't that lucky. Not only did he use the Zankuha attack, but it's at least twice as powerful as what he was using before.'_

As soon as he felt the attack taper off, he used the dust from the debris to cover the momentary activation of his Sharingan and confirm his enemies' position before using a chakra powered leap to sail across the distance between them. Landing behind the kunoichi, he gave a quick chop to her neck and watched her go down before charging his last opponent.

"What- Where'd the Uchiha brat go?" Sasuke didn't bother to respond as he slammed his fist into the side of the sound-nin's face. Refusing to allow this fight to waste more of his time, he applied a spinning roundhouse kick to pull the wind guy back to him and finished with a downward elbow strike.

Sasuke took several deep breaths and made sure his head was clear of the kunoichi's genjutsu as he watched to make sure that neither were going to get back up. Just as he got his breathing back under control, a slow clap and a low, demented chuckle banished any thought that this fight might finally be over.

"To defeat all three without the Sharingan… and hardly a scratch on you. Once your bloodline comes out – just think of the possibilities." Sasuke watched the grass-nin with a high level of trepidation. "Let's try bringing it out again. Or would you rather I go play with those two brats?" The automatic glare on his face betrayed him. "I see. But Sasuke, it must be those two bringing you down. The reason you haven't activated those eyes on your own…"

A quick glace to the side showed the green-clad genin struggling to stand. He was in no condition for a high paced retreat. The grass-nin was between him and his ally. "When did the village of Kusa start wanting bloodlines?"

Another chuckle, "Silly boy…" Suddenly, the grass-nin was in his face and Sasuke couldn't step back fast enough to avoid the open palm face blow. "Whoever said I was from Kusa?" He blocked a high kick only to be thrown back by the force. "You did fairly well in taijutsu, Sasuke-kun. Shall we try something more?"

Kunai appeared in both his hands, but Sasuke only had one kunai left. Blocking as well as he could with his right hand: the genin managed to dodge the critical strikes, but couldn't avoid everything from the imposter grass-nin. Left, right, from below, behind, right again and a downward strike at the same time –

"Too easy. You're embarrassing the Uchiha name. If I can't get your Sharingan, you're of no use to me. I'll take my time in killing you, like torturing a bug."

– skip back and gain a shallow cut on the thigh rather than being hamstrung, block a kunai aiming for his heart and take the deeper cut to his side. Dozens of cuts marked his body; the small weights in his armbands and on his shins were being used as improvised armor, but were only being kept in place by the few spare bits of cloth that hadn't been cut yet.

The pace seemed to increase until Sasuke couldn't think, only react to each deadly strike, until the imposter-nin let go of one of his kunai with a simple flick of his wrist. The block he had in motion to protect his kidney was rendered useless as, too fast to completely keep track, it lodged in his chest. He stared at it in shock for a moment before reality caught up and he was on his knees, coughing up blood, trying to get enough air to breathe.

The imposter-nin was speaking some more, but Sasuke couldn't hear over the rushing of blood in his ears. He closed his eyes_. 'Too much. It's too much. I can't beat him.'_ As defeat threatened to drown him, he could hear the ever reasonable Sakura yelling at him.

"You idiot. What's the point of having strength, if you don't use it when you need it?"  
Naruto backed her up, "Yeah, mate. Can't worry about later if you're not around to live it. We'll make it work."

Gritting his teeth, anger pushed the despair away in a tide of rage aimed at sadistic, powerful beings that just couldn't seem to leave him alone. Slitting his eyes open, he could see the enemy nin's sandaled feet in front of him, still babbling about how disappointing all this was. _'I'll only get one chance – while he still wants to 'test' me.'_

Activating his Sharingan, knowing there would be two tomoe in each eye thanks to Kakashi, he waited until he got his breathing back under control. With the kunai still in his chest, blood wouldn't pool into his lung too quickly. This could still work.

A quick leg sweep the imposter-nin still managed to leap above was followed by a fast uppercut. His opponent managed to avoid that as well, but was off balance. Sasuke put his full weight behind a straight kick to the mid-section that sent his opponent hurling into a tree fifteen feet away. He looked up while letting wired shuriken fly left and right to wrap the fake genin to the tree. He coughed once to clear his lungs of blood, before making the hand seals for his fire jutsu.

Meeting the non-grass-nin's eyes he saw genuine surprise before it melted into satisfaction. That gave him all the motivation he needed to take a deep breath, despite the pain and urge to cough. Blasting the fire jutsu down the wire (pre-treated with a highly flammable coating), he managed a steady stream for three quarters the usual duration before it was cut off with a wet cough. His throat burned from the backfire of the jutsu as he allowed himself to collapse to the ground to again clear hs lungs of blood. He watched the charred form through narrowed eyes as he tried to keep them clear of tears of pain.

Hope sank as his opponent staggered out of the loosened wires, snapping them easily after the fire had turned them brittle. A single hand seal and Sasuke was frozen in place, no matter that his lungs ached for air and that he could feel the blood pooling inside once more. Despite the pain, it felt very familiar. _'Of course, a full body-bind.' _A wandless _Finite Incantatem_ did nothing.

"To be able to use the Sharingan so well on the first awakening… or is it? Truly, either way, you are a man that carries the Uchiha blood. Just as I thought; I want you." Sasuke stared into the man's face – for the low voice was deeper than before and there was no mistaking it for anything but a man's. Half his face was the same as the imposter grass-nin he had been fighting, but the other half was pale skin, nearly bordering on white. And the eye, the eye was golden and slit like a snake's. The symbol proudly displayed on his forehead was no longer the grass insignia, but that of the village of Oto

'_It figures.'_ A steady application of chakra to his body, like when breaking free of the killing intent, gave him enough control to jerk around in his invisible bonds, but he couldn't manage to get free.

"You really are brothers. I sense power in your eyes that surpasses Itachi." That low chuckle was really grating on his nerves, especially the way it seemed to echo in his head due to lack of oxygen.

He had enough control to give a few weak coughs, trying to get a few gulps of fresh air. "Who-" another short cough "-are you?"

The ninja walked closer to him. "My name is Orochimaru. If you want to see me again, then survive and get through this exam… You've already defeated my three sound-nin, but that wound should give you a challenge." He was only a few steps away and Sasuke jerked back, trying to escape this chakra version of a body bind.

A loud shout and Sasuke watched with wide eyes as the eccentric green-clad genin came flying at the newly revealed Orochimaru. The sound-nin lazily dodged the flying kick, only to grab the extended leg and use it to toss the boy twenty feet away. Sasuke's ally skipped a few feet along the ground, before slamming into a tree. He didn't get back up.

"Foolish… look at these weaklings you surround yourself with." Another simple hand seal and Orochimaru's neck stretched, shooting his head into the sky before it sprung towards him. A last large burst of chakra and Sasuke broke free of the body-bind with enough time to hurl his last two shuriken at the incoming attack. They were easily avoided, but it gave him the few seconds he needed to hop backwards, grab a low tree limb, and launch himself upward.

His strength gave out as he landed on a thick branch. Two slender arms caught him across the chest before he could brace himself. For one panicked moment he wondered if there was another enemy, before Orochimaru's snake-like head snapped forward and latched onto his neck.

'_A vampire? No.'_ Coherent thought left him as what felt like molten lava poured into his neck and through his body. It seeped into his bones, burned out his eyes, and he couldn't hold back the scream as the agony seemed to pulse with his heartbeat. When the darkness of unconsciousness claimed him, he welcomed it.


	12. Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

Shikamaru wasn't sure how he felt as he caught the collapsing Uchiha. When Orochimaru had latched onto Sasuke's neck like a starving Akimichi he was certain he'd regret stepping in. As the S-class missing-nin pulled his head back to where it belonged, the rookie of the year crumpled in his arms, twitching in obvious pain.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru's voice bordered on shouting as he tried to keep his panic under control. Sasuke Uchiha was not supposed to die. Everything he had seen up to now showed that Orochimaru's purpose had to be something different. Uchiha or not, Sasuke would have fallen in the first exchange of blows if the S-class-nin had wanted him dead.

"I gave him a going away present. Sasuke-kun will definitely seek me… to seek power. It was fun testing his powers." Orochimaru started sinking into the ground, his body seeming to melt into mud. As the last of him disappeared, Shikamaru relaxed. It was doubtful the snake sannin meant further harm, even if he stuck around to watch them.

He wouldn't have cared if he hadn't figured that out as Sasuke went stiff and screamed.

Even before he was orphaned, the Uchiha had always been reserved. He had an easy smile, but never spoken unless spoken to, and always trained or retreated to his clan estates. In the last three years, the only emotion he had seen on Sasuke's face was annoyance. When he had been stabbed by an errant kunai during practice a year ago, he hardly blinked. He nonchalantly pulled it out of his arm, wrapped the wound, and went back to practice. If Iruka hadn't made a fuss and forced him to go to the nurse, it would have been just another day at school.

To hear a scream that echoed through the forest coming from the stoic Uchiha's mouth sent chills down his spine. The blood curdling scream they had heard earlier was much easier to deal with; even if it had messed up his easy-going plans for the exam.

Forcing his hands not to tremble, Shikamaru checked the bite mark. Thick black ink seemed to bubble up from underneath the skin to form three tomoe in mocking imitation of the Uchiha eye. To the right of the wound were two puncture marks that were more like a rattlesnake bite than what could be made by a human mouth.

Sasuke went limp and silent in his arms.

For one terrifying moment he thought the rookie genin dead. A wet rasp of breath followed by choked coughs reassured the shadow user until he realized the coughs weren't stopping. Careful of the kunai still sticking out the Uchiha's chest, Shikamaru shifted the leaf-nin face down. While rubbing his back and trying to keep his head in an ideal position, Shikamaru had to admit he was completely lost as to what to do.

"Shika!" Looking up, he noticed Ino and Choji running towards him. Any other time he would have cursed Ino for being so bull-headed. They were supposed to take the green-genin and run for the gate. Even if they had hidden the strange leaf-nin, there wasn't anything more they could do… _'Wait. That's it!'_

"Ino! Use Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

"What?" She stopped at the base of his tree in confusion.

"Switch with Sasuke. He's unconscious and can't clear his lungs. You can still transfer back if you can't get it under control." Nodding in confirmation, his blonde teammate used the wordless jutsu and Choji caught her body. He braced himself to restrain Sasuke's body for the movement he know would come. Ino hated pain and he doubted she remembered just how injured her precious Sasuke-kun was.

The body was limp long enough for him to wonder if Ino had missed before it started to spasm. "Think Ino. You're fine. Ignore the pain. Just think of breathing. That's it. Concentrate on that. Get air into your lungs and you'll be fine."

"Shika! Transfer back. She's bleeding!"

He had never thought of that. Ino's body always took the same damage as the one she was possessing. Her mind must be transferring the wounds she could feel back to the original. _'Shit. The lung.'_

Not caring if he inflicted more damage on the genin boy, Shikamaru put the Uchiha's hands together and ordered Ino to transfer back. It took a few repeats, but as soon as Ino completed the last seal, Sasuke's body went limp again. Sighing in relief, he listened to the blonde cussing him out for ruining her 'beautiful' skin.

_At least he stopped coughing._ The slow gurgled breathing wasn't promising, but it was better than the constant coughing from before. He realized the Uchiha would need immediate care, which was only available outside of the gate. Which meant Team 10 would be disqualified. _'Ino's going to complain forever. This is way too troublesome.'_

**– Scene Break –**

Another twinge of pain went through her leg as she leapt to the next tree. Compared to Sasuke-kun's condition, the various bruises and cuts on her body were like paper cuts. Didn't make it hurt any less. _'Now I know why Dad said to only use the Shintenshin at the beginning of battle. It's probably the reason why it's the beginner level jutsu in our family scrolls.'_

Ino glanced over at the boys who carried Sasuke-kun on a stretcher between them. A shudder ran through her as she remembered being in his body: everything ached, the sharp pains of cuts were all over, the blood pounding in her/his head, and the overwhelming panic when she realized that she/he couldn't breathe. She didn't know how long she was in there before she realized Shika was demanding she get back in her own body. The memory kept her from being too upset at the idea of dropping out to get help, but she had demanded they head for the tower instead.

Choji had searched the team her Sasuke-kun had taken down and found an Earth scroll. While it was useless for Team 10, the Heaven scroll in the Uchiha's kunai pouch might allow him to go on to the next stage. There was no way she'd allow herself to be blamed for hindering his promotion.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Hopping back to regain her balance, she glared at her teammates, who'd suddenly decided to stop. They weren't even looking at her! Gritting her teeth, she decided to tell them exactly what she thought of their brilliant action.

"Kabuto, right?" Shikamaru's low voice switched her burning anger to utter confusion – until another voice sounded from directly ahead of them.

"Ah, don't worry. I'm not after your scroll or anything." The gray-haired genin smiled disarmingly at them, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She knew all about mind games and nothing seemed to add up with this guy. When he reached to his kunai pack behind him, she jumped in front of the boys so they would have time to set Sasuke-kun on the ground before joining the fight.

"No, no. I don't want to fight. See?" Instead of weapons, two scrolls were clenched between his fingers. "I already have both. I was headed for the tower to meet up with my teammates when I caught sight of you guys."

Team 10 was silent as they wordlessly agreed to wait and see what his angle was. After everything they had been through they wouldn't be surprised if one or both of those scrolls were fake so as to put them off guard.

"It's good to see you rookies aren't making silly mistakes, but when you were headed straight for the tower I was worried you didn't understand the exam. I guess you guys know what kind of danger you'll be jumping into then."

_'What?'_ As the older genin turned to leave, Ino couldn't help but ask. "Wait. What do you mean?"

"All the teams waiting for you ahead." It sounded like he was telling them you needed a fire to cook dinner.

"What are you talking about?" Ino started to get frustrated. This was not a good day and if this annoying guy wasn't going to start talking sense she was going to have a new punching bag.

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" A low growl from her gritted teeth prompted him to continue. "The goal of the examinees is the tower at the center of this forest. That means the easiest place to find a team with a scroll is around that tower. You guys seemed to be headed for the tower, not the area surrounding it, so you'll be prime targets."

"Aren't you in the same position?" When Shika stepped in front of her she had to resist checking on Sasuke-kun. She knew they hadn't jumped to the ground so there was no telling where they placed the last Uchiha.

"Well… the reason I've never passed the exam is I'm studying to be a medic. Medic-nin usually don't do well in combat. I couldn't just leave you guys alone when you're headed for a combat zone with someone on a stretcher." He looked so innocent with that hand scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. And it only served to throw up more red flags in her mind.

_'But if he can help Sasuke-kun…'_ She glanced at Shika and could tell her friend was thinking hard. She waited to see what he thought. And waited. And waited some more. Kabuto was polite enough not to speak while their shadow-user thought, but this was the reason she was team leader, not the lazy-ass. When Sasuke-kun started coughing violently again, she smacked the Nara over the head and demanded that Kabuto take a look.

Despite having made the decision, worry gnawed at her gut while the older leaf-nin checked over Sasuke. Even as he described what was wrong and what he was going to do, she couldn't relax. When the gray-haired genin had taken the kunai out of his chest to heal the punctured lung, she almost fainted from the squirt of blood that came out with it. As amazing as it was to see the visible green chakra glow of a medic-nin healing the rookie of the year, she had to wonder how a genin knew such an advanced technique.

"The lung is sealed, but he'll be coughing up the leftover blood for a while. I couldn't completely heal the puncture wound. Uchiha's chakra is also really low." Kabuto sighed in regret as he stood up and stepped away from his patient.

"Can't you do anything more for him?" Despite saving his life, she felt like the gray-haired genin wasn't trying his best. Shika couldn't irritate her as much as this guy seemed to.

"Nothing more than you've already done. That was an excellent job on the bandages." The encouraging smile made her fist clench as she tried not to slug him in the face. That healing chakra seemed to be the only thing that hadn't felt false – and it had left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Thanks for the help, but we'll take it from here." Shika always knew when she was on the verge of exploding. If he could get this black-eyed creep to leave she might even consider thanking him.

"Ah…" Kabuto seemed to get the hint. "Well then. Excuse me." As she watched him leap away, she couldn't dredge up anything more than a grudgingly small mental thanks. He seemed to have helped Sasuke-kun out of immediate danger. For the most part, she was just glad to have him gone.

_'Now if forehead-girl can get off her butt and find her teammate, Sasuke-kun can pass this stupid Forest of Death and get real help.'_ The last Uchiha deserved it after taking out an entire team by himself. She refused to believe that the thick eye-brow freak helped. Out of all the things that had happened, going back to the place she and Choji had hidden the green-genin and finding him gone was the highlight of the day. _'Of course, when Sasuke-kun wakes up and thanks me for all my help, right in front of forehead-girl… I bet I'll even get a hug! Yes, I can see it now. Sasuke-kun's eyes will slowly blink open. A gentle smile will grace his lips as he sees me. He'll ask me to help him sit up. No, he's bravely face the pain and I'll graciously help him. Then he will turn towards me and-'_

_Author's Note: A warm thanks to Essex who has graciously agreed to beta all future chapters of Reclaiming Life (and does so well at it too!). If not for him, this chapter would have been delayed significantly. Please enjoy the holidays.  
And while I love getting reviews (both positive and negative) I'd like to ask that those that dislike something in the latest chapter actually let me know what's wrong. The only reason I post these is to get comments in order to improve my writing style. Vague comments about the low quality of work could mean anything from 'the plot line isn't acceptable' to 'the grammar is poor' or maybe 'the story is moving along too slow.' I need a bit of clarification in order to do something about it._


	13. The Entire Story

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**

Just to let you all know, this is it: the end. There are no more updates after this 'chapter'.

You'll find that it starts at the beginning again. I didn't like a lot of the character flaws I could see, and I never had a plot to Reclaiming Life to start with. I made a plot, and started from the beginning.

Big thanks go to Essex, who proofed the first few chapters. The key concepts are still the same. For those of you that don't want to read the completely awesome re-written portion, scroll down to "NEW MATERIAL OUTLINE".

Just a warning, I don't have the time anymore to write the rest of the story. As I hate leaving a story unfinished, especially as I knew exactly where I was going with this, I've just compiled all my notes and made broad story outline for those that really want to know where I was going with this.

It's probably not what you want, because the story outline lacks a lot of what I think is needed to make a story worth reading, but it's there and anyone that wants to fill in the details and what not are free to do so. I'm a bit biased, but I think it is still a great story, and worth being written. Anyone that wants more information than this is welcome to read the Author's Note at the bottom of this incredibly long 'chapter'.

Have fun! And thanks for sticking with me.

**PROLOGUE**

Small feet pounded down the empty street. Looming shadows, formed by the full moon added to his panic. Where was everyone?

The chunin gate guards were missing. Aunt and Uncle should have been closing their shop. Houses stood dark where light typically shone through the square windows; including his.

Desperate calls for his family were returned by echoes. His mad dash, starting from that first inauspicious sight of the deserted streets, halted halfway down the main hall of his home. Straining ears heard only deafening silence. Breathing became difficult. A strangely familiar feeling settled in his stomach, like a rock swallowed whole.

The muffled thump snapped the boy's head in the direction of the dojo. Tentative steps took him to the screen door, but that strange feeling warned him against continuing. A stifled scream coincided with the dark splatter against the paper screen.

Worry moved his hands, sliding the door open. He gagged at the acrid scent of copper. A single moonbeam from an open window framed the prone forms of his parents. Sasuke approached the limp figures on trembling legs. Lessons from the ninja academy told him they were dead. No one could lose that much blood and still live. Disbelief kept him from accepting the evidence.

"Foolish little brother." He was too numb to jump at the deep voice. Sasuke watched Itachi emerge from the shadows. Hope had no time to rise past the shock, a fact that would later seem a blessing.

The Uchiha heir lifted his blood stained sword. The delicate plink, of a single scarlet drop joining the growing pool beneath their parents' bodies, echoed in the suffocating silence.

"What-… How-… Why?" the boy forced past the lump in his throat. His brother's expressionless gaze bore into him. Inadequacy, shame, and guilt welled up within him. Was this somehow his fault?

"To test my capacity." The answer was lacking. Itachi was lying. No one would do this for such a reason. Sasuke shook his head, unwilling to believe, unable to speak. The boy silently pled with those Sharingan eyes; eyes that his clan had been so proud of.

"Run little brother. Run and hide. Live in fear and hate. Hate me. Only your hate will give you the strength to kill me." Crimson eyes locked with his as something shifted. The tomoe spun, drowning him in black and red. The world blurred.

Bracing his legs to stay upright, Sasuke found himself outside again. The blood red moon revealed the Uchiha district in a sinister light. He called for someone, anyone, on the empty street. A cry of pain cut off in a wet gurgle behind him.

Spinning in place, he watched Uncle fall to the ground clutching his throat. Aunt's look of terror hastened his feet, but Itachi's downward stroke slashed open her back before she could even think to flee. Sasuke rolled her body over, warm blood and soft flesh limp in his arms. Itachi stood silent as his brother choked on his sobs. "Why?" the boy asked again.

"This is the world of Tsukiyomi," the murderer replied. "It is created by the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Mangekyo Sharingan?" he repeated.

"Yes. To gain the higher level of our blood limit you must kill your closest friend," Itachi explained.

"No." His brother, the one he looked up to, would give anything to be, was telling him such awful lies.

"Yes. The main temple of Nakano shrine… On the far right, under the 7th tatami, is the clan's secret meeting place. You'll find everything there." The siblings stared at each other. Sasuke switched between horror, grief, disbelief, and disgust. Itachi's feelings remained hidden.

"I control everything in this world. For 72 hours you will witness the end of our clan. Hate me if you wish to kill me." At his brother's words the boy's torment started. Relatives, acquaintances, familiar and unknown faces died over and over. Cold eyes watched him. The low voice repeated, "Hate me if you want to kill me."

Long after the predicted length of torture, Sasuke remained trapped within the storm of images inside his mind. Some featured people he knew he'd never met. Twins with flaming hair fought at his side until one fell, never to stand again. A woman, dark beauty marred by insanity, taunted him. A quiet smile of victory on his best friend's face was forever frozen by a sickly green light. Shaggy hair framed a surprised face as someone important toppled through an arch covered by cloth shadows.

The boy had no eyes to close, no way to stop the pain and death. A high pitched voice competed with his brother's low monotone. The challenge to kill Itachi merged with achingly familiar insults.

"Kill the Spare."

"Scream for me boy."

"Your mother begged me before she died. Shall you do the same Potter?"

The images exploded in light. His hand clasped his forehead in remembered pain before the boy realized he could move again. White walls glared back at him. Disinfected air stung his nose.

His body protested as he slowly sat up. Dark hair hung in front of his face, too long to be Harry's. A small, child-like hand brushed it behind his ear. Quick study confirmed they were his.

He was Uchiha Sasuke. Eight years old, not sixteen. Was it all a bad dream?

Ignoring everything but the need to see his family, to reassure himself that they were there, the boy jumped out of bed. The window provided a quick exit. Breathless and trembling in exhaustion, Sasuke arrived at the main entrance to the Uchiha compound.

The chunin guards were still missing. Yellow tape barred the way to non-existent passersby. Ducking under the flimsy barricade, the boy walked along empty streets. The daylight exposed dried bloodstains. Occasional damage from fighting marred the once pristine architecture. Dark eyes prickled as forced memories recalled how each was made.

Numbly, Sasuke traveled the short distance to his family's dojo. Sunlight instead of moonlight shone down on the spot where his parents had fallen. Legs crumpled beneath him as reality pushed past the denial.

The nightmare was real. His family, the entire clan, was gone. Itachi killed them. Everything he dreamt was true.

Grief paused at the thought. Everything?

Blinking, Sasuke's throat went dry. No, that wasn't right. Wasn't Itachi's betrayal enough? Stumbling to his feet, the boy staggered to the kitchen. Splashing his face, the memories of Harry Potter refused to leave. Cold water streamed from the faucet. He watched if flow down the drain as drops fell from his chin to join the escape.

A towel lay on the counter, just out of reach. Bile rose as he stretched his hand to retrieve it. The unsteady arm hung in the air a moment before he willed the towel to him. It twitched on the countertop.

Left hand gripping the sink, Sasuke avoided falling to the ground when his knees buckled. Dry swallowing to keep his stomach in place, the boy forced himself to try again. Harry Potter could use magic. Uchiha Sasuke had never heard of it. This was not chakra. Magic didn't exist. Harry Potter was just a bad dream added to his life's nightmare.

The towel flew to his waiting hand. Sliding down the side of the counter, the boy resisted throwing up through sheer stubbornness. Sprawled on the ground, towel in hand, damp face leaned against a cupboard door, Sasuke cried.

Silent and shaking, the Third Hokage found him there. When questioned about the tragic night, the boy answered in clipped phrases. No detail was offered unless asked. Dark eyes dimmed and the cheerful, reserved child retreated.

Sarutobi denied his request to remain on the estates after they were cleaned. A compromise was found by allowing him emancipation over adoption. A small apartment near the village center became the Uchiha's new shelter.

Frequent checks, personally or through his ANBU, reassured the old man of the young boy's state of mind. ANBU trainees kept watch on the main entrance of the old complex while other entryways were permanently barricaded. Sasuke was promised access when he turned 16 or after his first mission as a genin of Konoha.

Villagers were generous to the last Uchiha, but he never accepted their charity. Friendly overtures were spurned. Ninja training became Sasuke's focus. His voice roughened from disuse, but none could force him to speak more than necessary. 'Tragic,' it was said. 'Poor boy,' he was called. 'Such strength,' they praised him.

He kept his silence, remembering his family for what it was and missing it all the same. The boy woke often at night when crimson eyes invaded his dreams; some with tomoe, others with a serpentine slant. Recalling two best friends in the world and knowing that at least one had died because of him reaffirmed his vow.

Never again. Until his brother was taken care of, the Uchiha refused to try again. He never asked for the infamy of surviving. Those that pandered to him mattered little and those that didn't were ignored.

Once he gained enough strength, he would find his brother. Life could wait.

-Scene Break-

Fat tears streamed down her cheeks as she hunched over on a deserted park path. Since her father's death, nothing went as planned. His bloody, detached head still haunted her nightmares and the relocation to Konoha only created more problems.

Far from her father's house, with its peaceful countryside and precious texts, Sakura's new life fell short of all expectations. No friends to speak of and her mother believed her to be mentally unsound. Sakura's decision to become a ninja didn't help her claim to sanity.

After the first half day of classes, Sakura had to wonder if Mother was right.

_'I'm not crazy, thank you very much. '_

With great effort, Sakura ignored the determined voice. She promised her mother she would never bring up the imaginary world created by the trauma. The voice belonged to that world and should not exist. Repeated punishment allowed her to separate which thoughts were real, but the voice had not gone away in the last year.

_'Of course I'm not going to go away. Of all the idiotic ideas, why do people insist on fearing what they do not understand? '_

Sakura clutched her head. Sobs shook her shoulders. The little girl didn't understand any more than did the voice inside her. It felt like it belonged. How could it be bad? Why did she have to be different? Was normality too much to ask for?

_'Normal is overrated. I am worth more than that and no one can tell me differently. '_

Sakura desperately wanted to believe her inner voice, but dared not. Mother was all she had left. Besides, that imaginary voice had suggested the idea of ninja training; look how that turned out.

_'I should go back and show that girl who she's messing with. Even if my forehead was large, which is utterly ridiculous, that nasty brat underestimates the benefits of a good intellect. As if that cow's brain has any mass. Honestly, she's a female Goyle – or maybe a Crabbe…'_

The young girl sniffled, resisting the temptation to snipe back at the voice in her head. The days before class started had been filled with studying to make a good impression. The kunoichi class, a pre-requisite for girls planning to attend Ninja Academy, was a wonderful opportunity. But lunch arrived and the girls that approached her shattered Sakura's hopes.

_'I wouldn't want to be friends with that cow if she begged me. '_

The image of Ami on her knees, begging for forgiveness, brought a weak chuckle to the girl. Sakura scrubbed at her face as the sobs quieted. Shifting her weight, she laid her head on crossed arms which she propped on her knees. Lunch would be over soon.

Sakura's inner voice demanded they return to class while the last few tears trickled down her face.

What was the point when no one wanted her around? She refused to acknowledge the false memory of two best friends gained after a terrifying experience with a troll. True or not, she didn't have the strength this time.

"Hey there."

Sakura looked up. A blonde classmate smiled down at her. Ino was popular; half the class had gathered around the Yamanaka. Why was she here?

_'Not everyone thinks I'm just a know-it-all. '_

"Don't worry. Ami's an idiot. Her father's a ninja so some girls think she's something special. Most the class is like you: first in the family. A bunch will quit and only a couple girls will actually pass the Academy." The babbling earned a half-smile from Sakura. Ino plopped down next to her, face invading the shy girl's personal space.

"It doesn't matter, you know." Sakura pulled back in confusion. Reaching out, Ino brushed Sakura's bangs away from her face. "You have a beautiful forehead."

_'You don't need to tell me that! '_

The blonde frowned at Sakura's blank expression. Snapping her fingers, Ino rummaged around in her side pouch. The girl and the voice were silent as the blonde found a bright red ribbon. "With such a pretty face, you should show it off more!"

Puffy red eyes stared in disbelief as Ino tied her bangs back with the ribbon. Two locks of hair fell on either side of her face when the blonde finished. Ino beamed at her. Ignoring the time, the blonde chatted with Sakura, slowly breaking the girl's shell of isolation. By the end of the day both girls had missed class but felt no regret.

_'I'll be sure to study more to make up for it. Hermoine Granger does not slack off in school. '_

The vehement vow startled Sakura. The voice had remained quiet all afternoon. If the voice was quiet when she was having fun with friends, Sakura wanted as many as she could find.

Still, the voice had thought of ninja training. It wouldn't hurt to listen to it on occasion, would it?

**CHAPTER ONE**

Liquid crimson streaked across the stone cheek.

Naruto bit his lip, resisting a snicker. The Fourth Hokage was the last to be 'improved' by the blond trickster. The other three took less than ten minutes to finish. This prank was so unthinkable; no one had noticed his work yet.

Running across the stone nose, Naruto added a swirl to the opposite cheek. Dark blue was next. The open cans of paint on his belt created an extra challenge to move around. The climb/walk up the nose to the Fourth's eyes was tricky, but 'eye shadow' was added before hot purple paint embellished the Fourth's lips.

"Hey! You there!" The shout alerted the villagers. More voices joined the first, deriding Naruto's additions to the monument. Now at the center of attention, the blond cackled. "What do you think you're doing!?" Indignant yells demanded retribution for the blond's graffiti.

Pulling the slipknot on his belt, the blond repelled down the monument's side. The extra rope coiled at his side would take him to within sixty feet of the ground. A three story building that stood ten feet from the mountainside was the perfect landing spot. With a simple yank, the belt loaded with half-filled paint cans, continued along his original trajectory. The group waiting below had no chance to avoid the raining paint.

Bouncing off of walls and scrambling over roofs, Naruto surprised those thinking he'd need to climb down. Five shinobi noticed his escape and moved to intercept him. Dropping into an alley triggered the next part of his plan; a large dog stuffed into a spare orange jumpsuit wearing a wild blond wig.

The ninja following glimpsed two brightly colored figures rounding different corners on four limbs. The three wearing the green vest of a chunin chose to follow the real Naruto. Cursing his luck, the blond ran faster.

Every underhanded trick he knew, and a mental map of Konoha's back routes, kept him ahead of his pursuers for an hour and a half. He ended up on the other side of the village where a single board on a wooden fence had been rigged for a quick lift and run. Under the cover of leafy shrubs, Naruto took long, low breaths while ignoring his burning lungs.

"Where is that brat?" a man growled, sending chills down the blond's spine. Naruto silently gave thanks for the fence that separated them.

"Can't be far," another replied, calmer, but no less frustrated. "No place to turn. Took to the roofs again?" A light breeze pushed through small cracks between the wooden planks, signaling their departure. The men weren't ANBU. ANBU level ninja would have caught him, but these were decent chunin. Not something to take lightly.

It was still too early to celebrate. Too many pranks had ended by giving into the urge to gloat. He counted down ten minutes before daring to move. The old couple that owned the small yard would return from their daily trip to the market soon. No sense in being here when they did.

Peering out a convenient peephole, the blond eyed the deserted lane. Climbing the fence, he scanned the roofline as well. No one.

"Alright!" Hopping down, the prankster pumped his fist in the air. One more point for Naruto. Not a clean getaway, as the entire village saw him do it, but no one had caught him. He'd lay low for the day. They wouldn't let the monument stay like that. Either way, he'd be punished, but Naruto would settle for not having to scrub his handiwork off.

Stuffing hands into ratty pockets, he whistled happily on his way to the training grounds.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Naruto winced. It had to be him. Naruto dreaded that exasperated voice more than the deadly growl from before. Thinking fast, the boy played innocent. "Just hanging around, Iruka-sensei."

A single eyebrow rose over a dark brown eye. Naruto didn't need the crossed arms or the tapping foot to know he was in trouble. The chunin were right, nowhere to run but up. He wasn't near any other hiding place, but just surrendering wasn't in him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school, Naruto?" Iruka didn't mention the prank.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching, Iruka-sensei?" The raised eyebrow was twitching. Naruto scampered. He made it to the second rooftop before Iruka caught up.

Bound tight, Iruka tossed Naruto over his shoulder. Villagers watched his journey to the Academy with dark glee. Turning away did nothing to relieve the impression of those hate-filled eyes. Naruto chose to stick his tongue out at them instead.

When they reached the Academy, Iruka plopped his burden down in front of his classmates. Naruto grunted on impact and scowled at the amused faces of his peers. Turning his back on them, the blond grumbled under his breath. The chunin should have been in class. Why did his teacher come after him?

"Class, we have a special surprise today. Since some of you," a pointed look at the prankster gave no mercy, "have too much energy despite the Genin Exam tomorrow, a quick test of your abilities will be given today."

The class groaned and Naruto could feel the glares on his back. As the ninja students migrated to the front of the room, Iruka released the blond. No words were spoken, but the order was clear. No escape this time.

One by one their skill with the henge technique was demonstrated. A small layer of chakra turned each of the children into an illusionary replica of their teacher. Naruto was the last to perform; big mistake. The long wait allowed him time to think. Revenge was at hand.

Silently, Naruto used the hand seals for his own original henge technique. "Oiroke no jutsu!" A provocative, buxom blonde appeared through the puff of smoke. Lingering traces conveniently hid choice body parts, hinting at things best left unsaid.

Iruka spun in place, a hand instinctively covering his eyes. Even his ears blushed red. Naruto returned to normal, pounding the floor in hilarity. Why hadn't he tried that trick before?

"Naruto!" Laughter choked in his throat. Right. Angry Iruka. Not so good idea.

-Scene Break-

Carefully practiced control hid his disappointment.

Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki.

Even Itachi had a genin team when leaving the Academy. It was another milestone on his path to gaining strength, but not a welcomed one. His assigned team proved his opinion right.

He hopped out the window as soon as Iruka gave the signal for lunch. Using the momentum from his fall, Sasuke sprinted across the Academy yard. Dodging fangirls was instinctive. Not one of them was good enough to follow his route.

His food was bland but held the necessary nutrition. Why spend hours cooking when more productive activities were at hand? He could remember eating worse.

Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki. He was stuck with them.

Sakura Haruno was little more than a trumped up scholar. Every paper test scored highest in the class, but nothing physical gained more than adequate marks. Spars often ended in verbal resignation; couldn't mar her 'perfect' looks.

Naruto Uzumaki was an idiot. Only stubborn determination carried the blond this far. It was common knowledge he had tried and failed the test three years running. Who knew how he gained the hiate on his forehead? Perhaps the teachers refused to deal with the bonehead another year.

The Chunin Exams were three months off. The finals were individual but he needed a team to get that far. These two had no chance. Nine months held marginally better odds. This disaster set the Uchiha's plans back a year, minimum.

A spike of hostility warned him to move a second before the enemy struck. Naruto's lunge missed him by inches. Sprawled on the ground, his new teammate glared at him. Sasuke glared back.

The idiot didn't know when to quit. First the moronic staring contest this morning, leaving both boys heaped on the ground when Naruto lost his balance. That was irritating.

Instead of a halfway decent team, he received the bottom of the barrel. It may not have been Naruto's choice, but Sasuke blamed him.

Now the idiot attacked out of the blue. The remains of the Uchiha's lunch lay smashed beneath the blond's leg. That was worth a reaction.

When Naruto charged again, Sasuke prepared to beat some sense into his head. He refused to be held back by bad luck and there was a lot of work to be done to get either of his teammates into shape. The blond might listen to force more than reason.

Two clones popped into the air as Naruto leapt at him, surprising Sasuke. The blond hadn't been able to create bushin two days ago. Ignoring the obvious illusions, Sasuke slammed his fist into Naruto's gut. The boy went down, but a foot jammed into Sasuke's shoulder before a leg swept his feet out from underneath him. The rookie of the year ended up hogtied, wondering what happened.

"Don't worry bastard. I'll take good care of you." Naruto, wearing Sasuke's image, smiled cheekily and waved goodbye. Sasuke growled before working on the ropes. Simple knots were placed in near impossible to reach locations. At least the idiot knew how to secure a prisoner.

Scowling, Sasuke mentally tugged at a few strands before the entire thing unraveled. Magic had its good points. Brushing himself off, Sasuke cleaned up his ruined food. With nothing else to do, he leaned against the wall near the closed window, waiting for the break to end.

Naruto might look like him, but could never act like an Uchiha. That stupid grin stood out on Sasuke's face. Anyone could have spotted the disguise.

That fight was a different matter. Those clones were solid. Earth clones from Iwa-nin and water clones from Kiri-nin could do so, but neither element had been present. The two bodies that hit him had dissipated in a cloud of smoke, not a splash of water or crumbling dirt. What technique had Naruto learned?

Complaints echoed over from the building across the way. Ino was dragging her two teammates back to the Academy. He'd wait five minutes and slip into class just as break ended.

Sighing, Sasuke rubbed his eyes before bringing his stoic mask back. He needed to join his team. Disliking them was no excuse. He'd drag them along kicking and screaming if he had to. One more challenge to overcome.

-Scene Break-

Team 7 sat in an empty classroom. Other jounin instructors picked up their teams hours ago. Iruka packed up and left shortly thereafter, instructing the trio that their instructor would arrive later. The kunoichi saw the perfect opportunity to get close to the village heartthrob; ignoring the blond menace was easy.

But Sasuke's only comment to her stopped her efforts cold. A curt, "You're annoying," echoed in her head since the words passed his lips.

In hindsight, mentioning parents was a mistake, but why such a reaction? At lunch, Sasuke was perfect. That kiss was so close! Whatever took him away must have been important. She knew picking up where they'd stopped was unrealistic, but Sasuke ignored her completely!

_'__He's acting normal. The entire lunch conversation was the odd moment.__ '_

Inner Sakura was practical, but Sakura only listened when it suited her. Lunch was too good to be true, but she'd hang on to the memory for as long as she could. Instead of face the reality of Sasuke's odd behavior, she'd rather figure out how talking about Naruto ended in rejection.

_'__Of course, Sasuke's also an orphan. It just had to slip my mind. Why do I have to act so stupid to be popular? It's affecting my actual ability to think.__ '_

Shame kept her quiet after Sasuke's reprimand. Her shallow personality was not a point she'd care to ponder. Blaming Naruto was more convenient.

The aforementioned blond stood from his self-imposed exile in the corner. Humming a nameless tune, the trickster strolled to the chalkboard. He grabbed an eraser and a chair before scuttling over to the door.

_'__A jounin instructor would never fall for such a simple trick. The eraser is visible from the hall. Isn't he supposedly good at pranks? Of course, trying anything on a new instructor is terrible. Nothing good will come of it.__ '_

Sakura agreed. The idiot would ruin their first impression. How'd he manage to pass anyway? Last she heard Naruto failed the exam. But here he was; bright orange and all. For a self-proclaimed expert at stealth and mischief, Sakura wondered how the boy could wear such a garish color.

_'__At least Ron kept it to his bedroom walls. He could outmaneuver anyone in a game of chess, but failed miserably at picking a decent quidditch team.__ '_

"Thank Merlin the Chudley Cannons aren't around," Sakura mumbled. A shudder ran down her spine. Naruto and the Cannons should never mix.

"Hey! With a decent seeker, they would have made a great comeback!" Sakura's head snapped up. Wide green eyes met indignant blue.

_'__How…?__'_

Sakura's thoughts trailed into shock alongside Inner Sakura's. Naruto didn't even realize the significance of his shout.

The door opened and a gray-haired ninja stuck his head inside the classroom just in time for the eraser to hit. Naruto collapsed in a fit of laughter, bringing Sasuke's attention back from staring out the window.

Sakura tried to restart her brain. Everything felt surreal.

"Well," the jounin spoke. "I have to say, from first impression - I hate you guys."

Her stomach sank. This wasn't the way her first steps as a ninja should be.

"Meet me on the roof," the jounin ordered before the man disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke was her teammate. They would go on missions together; fall in love in the midst of danger. He would save her life and then forbid her from doing anything dangerous again. They'd marry with the entire village as witnesses.

She'd keep the house warm and ready for when he returned from missions. The Hokage would listen to him regarding the security of Konoha. Their children would grow strong and everyone would look to her for guidance while her husband was away.

Instead, her crush refused to speak with her, Naruto was making her head spin, and their teacher hated them.

_'__I need more facts. Naruto probably heard something from Mother and turned it into a joke. I'll have to ask. And the jounin is just testing our resolve. Giving up is not an option. Just watch. I'll make him eat those words.__ '_

Shaking her head, Sakura grit her teeth. Dashing to catch up to her teammates, she made her own vow: no one looked down on Sakura Haruno, smartest kunoichi of the year.

**CHAPTER THREE**

There was too much to do. The library would be her first stop, and then home for dinner. Afterwards, she'd make a careful list of supplies in addition to instructed survival equipment. If they ended up hiking she'd get Naruto to carry the extra bag. An early bedtime would give her more energy for the early dawn meeting and subsequent test. Sasuke might even be impressed with her preparations and management of Naruto. When they all passed he could-

"Forehead-girl! What do you think you're doing?" The shrill voice cut through the minor daydream while Sakura hid a groan. Dealing with Ino right after Naruto; this was not her day.

"What do you want Ino-pig?" Drawing herself up, Sakura fell into her role as the arrogant know-it-all. Ino had taught her well. The blonde probably regretted it after Sakura became her rival last year.

"When did you become an idiot, Forehead-girl? Here I am, just minding my own business, when I see some stupid floozy heading for the library. Being the good kunoichi I am; I decide to see what genjutsu was being used for the -brand new- member of Sasuke-kun's team to even think about going near Uchiha fan central. Is this the thanks I get?"

Sakura blinked at the explanation. She ran the rant twice more through her head before realizing what Ino was trying to say. 'You're an idiot. Sasuke's fan girls are out for blood and you're handing yourself over. Don't think I'm doing you any favors, I'm just hear to rub your stupidity in your face. Really, that's all.'

"Well excuse me for trying to find out about our new jounin instructor, Ms. Kind Kunoichi. Just because you didn't get on Sasuke-kun's team doesn't mean you have to take it out on me. I'm not afraid of some little girls that didn't make the cut."

"Oh, so three dozen crazy girls with more weapons than they know what to do with doesn't bother the poor little ninja that barely passed her sparring class. So sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

Sakura bit her lip. Three dozen was more than triple the usual group that gathered there. Six or eight failed kunoichi would be difficult, but they wouldn't start a fight in the middle of the library. Social snipping was completely different than an outright mob.

"Hey, don't start crying on me Forehead-girl," Ino warned. The blonde fidgeted as Sakura ran through her options. She needed that information. There were too many possibilities for tomorrow without it. "It's not the end of the world, idiot. You're not going to fail an obstacle course just because you couldn't read up on your instructor."

"Obstacle course?" Ino's team was going to do something different? Of course, the tests were given by the chosen jounin instructors. "We've got survival training, but we already passed that in the Academy. We thought we'd have a better chance if we knew something about the instructor." But if Kakashi had labeled the test as survival training, while the other instructors were saying something different, that was a clue by itself. It narrowed down the options.

"Well don't just stand there Forehead-girl. You really are an idiot, or did you forget that my dad was a jounin?"

Sakura hid a smile as she chased after her rival. "Hey! Don't call me Forehead-girl, Ino-pig." Despite everything, the blonde always came through in a pinch. Sakura knew she'd do the same.

"Like I care about that… Forehead-girl!" The two squabbled all the way to the flower shop.

-Scene Break-

Naruto slumped against the taijutsu training log. It was too early in the morning to be up. Even Sakura was late. A little voice in the back of his mind reminded him of past meetings that started the same way.

Someone would be nice; invite him to play, practice, even study. But when the time came, no one showed. If they did, they'd only stop by to apologize: something came up and they couldn't hang out.

Sighing, Naruto stared at the cloud filled sky. The rising sun splashed golds and reds on the puffy shapes. Cocking his head to one side changed a cloud on the left into a nice bowl of ramen. His stomach gurgled in remembrance of missed breakfast.

The blond scanned the sky for a cloud that didn't remind him of food. A little round gold cloud broke off from a larger one, wisps of fluff spilling out from either side. The winged cloud seemed to move faster than those surrounding it. Flittering in and out of reach, the teasing cloud became a golden snitch.

Naruto's smile turned nostalgic. How long had it been since he'd dreamt of Harry seeking the snitch? All through childhood, such dreams kept him sane. Who cared if the old lady watching over him hardly spoke? Night would come and Naruto became the son of Molly Weasley, the best Mom a kid could ask for.

Old man Hokage eventually convinced him everything was make-believe. The ninja leader explained the Weasley's as a substitute for his missing family. Hogwarts showed his love for adventure, and his best friends were only imaginary ones.

Despite the Hokage's reassurances that dreams and invisible friends were perfectly normal, the reality had crushed Naruto. After a bit of anger and depression, the blond turned to pranking to keep his thoughts occupied. If he copied the twins jokes a little, no one would know but him.

The gold red hues faded from the sky, dispelling the illusion of a golden snitch. Scanning the training field, Naruto wondered why he was surprised neither of his teammates had shown. Shifting against the training log, Naruto found a comfy spot. Half an hour to go and they'd arrive in time for Kakashi's meeting.

Sasuke wouldn't come early. That bastard would stroll in right on time, perfectly prepared. The Uchiha was the village darling. Why would he be nervous enough to show up early, just in case?

But Sakura asked for this early meeting. The only reason Naruto dragged himself out of bed an hour before he had to, was because of her. For being well-known as the smartest in the class, the kunoichi was too flighty. Boys and fashion took priority over training and practicality. If she wasn't so concerned with make-up and clothes, Naruto would name her the real life Hermoine. Maybe that was why he liked her.

Either way, it didn't matter. So what if he was on a team with the smartest girl in school and a famous boy no one believed he could keep up with? Konoha wasn't Hogwarts.

And Sasuke Uchiha was nothing like Harry Potter. The Uchiha wasn't a shy boy, wanting friends in a new world of magic. And he wasn't a moody teenager whose temper snapped at the smallest things. No, Naruto's teammate was cool and collected at all times – one of the reasons that bastard pissed him off.

And Naruto wasn't Ron Weasley. He had to tell himself that all the time, but looking back, the blonde was glad he wasn't. Ron was a spoiled brat that didn't know how good he had it. Sure, he stuck with his friends, but he never appreciated his family, and Naruto knew he wouldn't have been half has stupid as Ron. He was the great Naruto Uzumaki, destined to be the next Hokage.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the quiet morning. Sakura stumbled into view with two large packs hanging off her shoulders. Scrambling to his feet, Naruto dashed over to help, shouting a cheerful greeting.

"Hey Naruto. Sorry about being late, but Mom insisted I eat breakfast, even though Kakashi-sensei said not to. It took a long time to convince her to let me go. Honestly, I'm a genin now. I don't need to be babied, especially not for a test. How is she going to react when I have an actual mission?"

The kunoichi ranted as she plopped the bag she kept on the ground. Naruto set the bag he took from her next to it. Stretching the kinks out of her back, the blonde could only watch as Sakura continued to talk.

"We don't have much time, but I ran into Ino last night and her father knew about Kakashi-sensei. According to Yamanaka-san, Kakashi-sensei is never on time, except emergencies. The best we can hope for is a fifteen-minute wait, but being a couple of hours late is normal for him. Unfortunately, we can't count on it so we'll need a rough plan of action in twenty-minutes."

Sakura rummaged in her bag as Naruto crouched next to her. "He's a high-ranked jounin, listed in the bingo book as 'Copy-cat Ninja' or 'Sharingan Kakashi'. He knows over a thousand jutsu but doesn't lack in taijutsu abilities. Now that doesn't narrow down our options too much, but we can cross off weapon or academic tests with relatively little risk."

Naruto blinked as she produced a rolled scroll and spread it on the ground. "We might be doing a typical survival course, but with Kakashi-sensei as the enemy. That would play to all his strengths, and means we would have to protect an area, an object, or reach a set destination from here. The last one sound more like an obstacle course, which Ino's team was told they'd do. That lowers the odds for it to be true for us as well."

The scroll had dozens of ideas listed. Many were scratched out, a couple with question marks nearby. The ones she was speaking about were circled with various numbers next to them that Naruto couldn't tell the reason for. The second scroll was a rough sketch of the training grounds surrounding their meeting spot.

"He could switch roles, where we'd be the enemy that has to defeat him. This is actually the best solution. We'd have the advantage. Grabbing an item or destroying an area is easier than protecting them from a more skilled opponent."

Naruto nodded, overcoming his shock at the babbled information. It was obvious she had thought this out and her explanation made sense.

"With his ninjutsu ability, we may be asked about our knowledge on the subject, or to demonstrate our ability. Same with genjutsu. Being straight from the Academy, he could just want to see how well we do the basic three or perhaps choose one and see how many bushin we can create, how long we can hold a henge, or how many times we can perform a kawamari before succumbing to equilibrium feedback.

"Some ninjas can continue fighting despite the nausea. He may try testing our taijutsu after we're disoriented from too many body switches in a row. But he might go for the genjutsu angle, with an illusion of a survival test we have to complete or break free of in a certain amount of time. He could also give us a genjutsu we would-"

"Alright, alright. I get it," Naruto interrupted. "Kakashi-sensei could give us anything form kicking his ass to picking our nose." He ignored Sakura's glare. "You'd probably think of a better test than whatever he's actually going to give. Let's just go with your first idea."

"But that only covers a small range of potential tests," Sakura argued.

"Why'd you choose it first?" The question caught her off guard. "Those other ideas are just that: ideas. The first on sounded right. A survival test against our teacher? Perfect. We can show what we're made of. Your gut is telling you it's right, right? That's why it's at the top of your list."

The kunoichi gave a wide-eyed look before scrunching her face in thought. Naruto watched her, hoping she'd take the hint. A few moments later, she nodded in acknowledgement. "Since we can't tell where or what we might be defending or acquiring, I brought extra supplies for traps and general first aid. We were asked to bring rations for three days. I doubt they'd waste any more time than necessary on a genin qualification exam. If the time period is extended we can forage for supplies."

"That's great Sakura-chan!" Naruto hadn't expected this much from the kunoichi. She was more like Hermoine than he thought. The two spent the last ten minutes planning a few rough scenarios while shadow clones hid the extra supplies and created some traps. When Sakura failed to notice Sasuke's arrival before Naruto did, hope stirred in his chest.

He might get a friend after all.

**CHATER FOUR**

"Yo," Kakashi greeted Team 7, four hours after his set time. Sasuke glared at the man while his teammates yelled. The gray-haired ninja tilted his head in mock apology. "Sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to go back and help a little old lady across the street."

"Liar!" Sakura and Naruto screamed. One morning plotting together and the pair were in perfect synch. As long as they didn't expect him to join in, Sasuke could use this new development.

"Anyway," Kakashi drawled, ignoring his temporary genin. Out of his waist utility pouch, the jounin produced a bright red alarm clock. Placing it on the top of the middle training log, the plain face read 11 o'clock. Two golden bells were pulled from the same pouch, dangling from short strings pinched between his fingers.

"You three have until noon to take a bell from me." The cherry-sized bells jingled cheerfully.

"But sensei, there are only two bells," Sakura commented. With that girl around, Sasuke would never worry about missing the obvious.

"Exactly," Kakashi beamed beneath his cloth mask. "Only two people will be able to pass this test. One of you will not only be sent back to the Academy, but I will tie you to one of these logs. The rest of us will eat lunch in front of you."

What was Kakashi thinking? A single genin passing for an apprenticeship was unlikely, but possible. Two genin on a four-man squad was not. Or did Kakashi expect that another incentive was needed with the rookie of the year on his team? If only one got to pass, Sasuke was a perfect choice. The other two might not even try.

Naruto's stomach rumbled across the clearing. The sadistic twinkle in Kakashi's eye reminded him of a Dumbledore with Snape-like tendencies. The jounin instructor may be telling the truth and the passed genin would be reshuffled to new teams. But why make the current teams in the first place then?

"Actions speak louder than words. I see the dead last thinks more of food than graduating." A dark glare from the blond sent the jounin chuckling. "If you want to pass, you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi announced.

Naruto snapped a kunai into his palm, but never had a chance to use it. Kakashi appeared behind the blond, his own kunai pricking the back of Naruto's neck. "Now, now. I didn't say you could start yet," Kakashi admonished.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, gauging the distance crossed in an instant. The Uchiha couldn't do that, so how was he supposed to get a bell from the man?

"Go!" Sasuke dashed on the jounin's mark, thinking of possible meanings this test held. Sounds of combat halted his retreat into the woods. Circling to another side of the clearing, Sasuke used a convenient tree for cover to watch Naruto fight Kakashi.

"Naruto, move!" Sakura's shout betrayed her position, but Kakashi's hands were forming the final seal for a fire technique.

There was no time to move, to act, before the jounin announced his attack. "A thousand years of pain!"

Naruto screamed at the forceful jab to his butt. The blond's frantic movements to get away from the source of pain landed him in the creek running along one side of the clearing.

Sasuke breathed out slowly, heart pounding in his ears. Of course Kakashi wouldn't grievously harm any of them. The man was a jounin, skilled to the point he could defeat any genin without injury. Not once during the entire fight had Kakashi displayed that amazing speed from before the test.

Jumping from his perch, Sasuke picked his path around the clearing towards Sakura's last location. He'd worry about the consequences later – his instincts said to move now. If the other two distracted Kakashi, Sasuke could grab a bell.

Five Naruto's leapt out of the creek just as Sasuke caught sight of the fan girl. She hadn't even moved from her compromised spot. Disgust warred with practicality. He needed a distraction, but the thought of relying on this level of 'ninja' left a bad taste.

The girl didn't even realize he was watching her. Flipping up to a sturdy branch, Sasuke removed a kunai from his pouch. Sakura would startle if he approached. A flung kunai would get the same reaction, but might result in a scream or injury as well. With his luck, probably both.

If he could get her into the clearing, Naruto and Kakashi would have to acknowledge her. If she just screamed, they'd notice, but could push it to the back of their minds. Well, Kakashi would. Naruto's reaction likely involved abandoning the fight if he thought Sakura was in trouble.

Grabbing some wire and another two kunai, Sasuke worked quickly to set a time released trap. Dashing around Sakura, Sasuke aimed for the closest cover to Naruto and Kakashi's location. His trap sprung before he could reach it.

Sakura's high pitched scream cut off in a startled yelp and a crash of breaking branches. The girl scrambled out of range of the third kunai when the second nicked her shin.

The mass of Naruto clones paused at the panicked entry. Kakashi raised an eyebrow before casually backhanding the nearest Naruto. The pop of dispersed air snapped Naruto back to the fight. Kakashi shifted to block a possible charge from Sakura while easily defeating the blonds.

Sasuke didn't hesitate. He was farther away than ideal, but the Uchiha capitalized the opening Kakashi gave him. Halfway to his target, Sasuke knew it would fail. Then, two sets of tanned hands burst from the ground, capturing Kakashi's ankles. The moment of surprise coupled by a random kunai thrown by Sakura gave Sasuke a clear shot at the bells.

A clumsy Naruto messed it up.

Instead of grasping the bells, Sasuke spun to avoid crashing into Kakashi when a Naruto knocked him off course. Quick reflexes blocked the palm strike aimed at his midsection, but the blow threw him back.

He refused to leave empty handed. A desperate grab snagged the bright orange book Kakashi had taunted Naruto with. Landing near the tree line, Sasuke caught the killer glare sent his way. It froze his body for half a second before the Narutos swarmed the jounin.

The bells were lost this time, but the book in his hands seemed to be worth quite a bit. Dodging through the trees, Sasuke tried to recall where the idiot said his clones were trapping. A moss covered burrow derailed his thoughts.

Sasuke swiped a kunai over one side, pried the ground cover up, stashed the book, smoothed the cut moss together, and fled in a few seconds time: a crude but effective cache. The Uchiha held no illusions on how he'd fair in a fight if Kakashi was determined to win. If he could reach the trap area he might stand a chance.

"Now that wasn't very nice Sasuke-kun." Sasuke rolled with the kick from the jounin. A quick exchange in blows told Sasuke the instructor was still playing with him. Stepping up the pace a notch, his hands brushed the bells before he was hit away.

He didn't see the blow coming. A smirk crossed his face. The jounin was forced to bring out his true speed. That was a victory on its own. But he was still bell-less.

"Sasuke, you bastard!" The two boys went down in a tangle of limbs while an army of Naruto's charged a wide-eyed Kakashi. "I had the perfect plan and you ruined it!"

Sasuke maneuvered the blond for a well placed knee to crumple his strength. A full strength punch knocked the blond off him.

"The jounin was playing with you the entire time, idiot. Whatever you were planning wouldn't have worked."

"How do you know that bastard? You're so caught up in 'look at me, I'm Sasuke Uchiha', you can't see anything else. Spare me the ego, prick!" Naruto got right in his face as he growled at the Uchiha.

Sasuke snorted at the dramatics. "Unlike you, I train every spare moment. While you play pranks, I'm running through kata. You go on about your love of ramen instead of working on chakra control. Studying? Don't make me laugh. You earned the title of dead last." Naruto gaped at him.

Sasuke brushed by the silent blond. Kakashi was almost done with the clones. He needed to think fast to get a bell.

"Bastard!" Several Narutos jumped Sasuke from behind. It surprised the Uchiha, forcing the dark-haired youth to concentrate in order to dodge each wild strike. The real Naruto collapsed from an elbow to the gut before his last solid bushin dispersed.

Naruto cussed under his breath as Sasuke scanned their surroundings. Kakashi was gone and Sakura was watching the two boys with a star-struck expression. "What are you looking at?"

Sakura jumped, glancing around before tentatively pointing at herself.

"Yes, you," Sasuke sneered. "You wouldn't even force me to use my hands. The first time you meet an enemy will likely be your last." They were going to fail this test and it was all his teammate's fault. Why should he continue to be polite?

-Scene Break

Sasuke's so cool!

_'He definitely has skill.'_

That alone makes him perfect.

_'Too bad he seems angry. I should be worried.'_

He's too cute.

_'And obviously dislikes me.'_

"I might not be good at fighting," Sakura admitted. "But I can be a good distraction and I have top scores in emergency first aid."

"So you can scream and patch us up when we fail," Sasuke's face remained indifferent.

_'I believe he's rolling his eyes at me. How can he remain so neutral in expression?'_

"Don't underestimate Sakura, bastard! Just because we aren't 'all powerful' Uchihas doesn't mean were useless."

_'Of course not. Don't you know? Knowledge is power.'_

"You don't have room to talk idiot. For all your 'brilliant' plans, you haven't touched the jounin."

"Like you could take him," Naruto snarled.

"If it's Sasuke-kun…" Sakura spoke.

_'He's good, but he's still a new genin.'_

"I've touched the bells, but Kakashi used his true ability. He's not going to give a chance if we get close."

"You scared of losing bastard?"

"I'm stuck with you two, aren't I?"

"Why you!" Sakura pounded her fist into Naruto's head.

"We still haven't tried a group effort. Naruto and I came up with a few ideas before you arrived, Sasuke-kun."

_'Even though most are half-baked and vague thoughts.'_

"Lead him into the traps Naruto set while sending clones at him until you can snatch a bell. You two didn't hide anything. Kakashi may have already disabled your traps before showing up."

Sakura paled. Why else would Kakashi arrive so late?

_'Yamanaka-san predicted one or two hours, but Kakashi was nearly four hours late. A jounin would likely scout the area before engaging the enemy.'_

"Like you have anything better to try," Naruto whined, still rubbing his head from Sakura's hit.

"Hn." The simple grunt gave Sakura hope. If Sasuke didn't have a plan, she could still show her worth.

"The traps could be disabled, and Kakashi-sensei might know our plan, but we kept it fairly generalized so there was room for change." Sasuke stared at her, unblinking.

Sakura swallowed hard. "Naruto, is there anyway you could check the traps without being seen? And maybe put up a few more?"

Naruto smiled. "No problem Sakura-chan. Kage-bushin-no-jutsu!" Half a dozen Naruto's charged off into the woods. Sakura slapped her face at the blond's audacity.

_'He was rather silent compared to usual.'_

It was true that none of the blonds yelled or cheered like they usually did when appearing. This time the clones popped into existence and left, not even a crackling branch to mark their departure.

"There won't be much time before Kakashi-sensei notices so we need to find him first. All we need is Kakashi-sensei to concentrate on two of us while the third takes the bells. I still believe I'm the best choice. I don't' stand out like you two."

"Alright!" Pumping a fist in the air, Naruto turned around, expecting Kakashi to reappear.

"You're the obvious choice. Kakashi will be expecting it," Sasuke warned.

_'And he's probably listening to all of this so he as twice the reason to think I'm going to take the bells.'_

Sakura gave a weak smile. "If he thinks you're the real threat, Kakashi-sensei won't have time to worry about me."

Sasuke gave her a long stare that made her glance away and fidget. Naruto had cloned himself again, the swarm of blonds searching around haphazardly.

To avoid her crush, Sakura ran to the nearest Naruto, lecturing him on the proper way to search. The impromptu lesson halted as sounds of combat started behind her.

Kakashi hadn't left, just hid until Sasuke was alone again. Plan forgotten, Sakura rushed in to help the Uchiha. The jounin easily dodged her kunai before slamming her into a tree. Sasuke took advantage of Kakashi's broken rhythm to push the man back. Several Naruto's joined in, scowling at Sasuke, but working with the rookie of the year.

The three kept the assault up. Naruto continued to make clones as Kakashi destroyed his old ones. Sasuke took a few hits, but never connected with the jounin. Sakura's body ached from the amount of attacks she took, but refused to stay down.

Everything changed when the four entered another clearing. The next time Sakura hit the ground one of the Naruto's stopped her from charging back into the fight. Out of breath, Sakura could only watch the chaos unfold.

Two Sasuke's were fighting Kakashi; four Naruto's cheering form the sideline. Dozens of shuriken launched form the trees as one Sasuke tackled the other. A poof of smoke left the original Sasuke crouched on the ground as Kakashi tripped one trap after another.

The Naruto next to Sakura tugged at her sleeve until she paid attention. "The last pit fall is over there," the blond gestured with his head. "We dug a back tunnel so you can crawl in to grab the bells."

_'Wha-'_

Two seconds later, Sakura realized Naruto's plan. Trap Kakashi and take the bells when he couldn't move. Glancing at the jounin, masterfully avoiding every attack, Sakura didn't believe Naruto's plan could work.

"Show me," she ordered the clone.

_'If the trap fall lets Kakashi stand on the cover a moment before it drops, there might be a chance.'_

Naruto did good work. The pit she crawled into was decent sized and covered with a grid of foliage and ninja wire.

Gouging out a foot hold on the side of the pit, Sakura listened to the battle above. Naruto's yells helped keep track of where the trio was at. The sound of roaring flames frightened her until Naruto started cursing a silent Sasuke for 'spitting fire all over the place like a damned dragon.'

Nerves taunt with anticipation, Sakura waited for Kakashi to step on the pit fall. The cover above sunk slightly with weight. Sakura launched herself upwards, using her back to break through the cover. Kakashi dodged before she even reached him, but Sasuke followed up perfectly.

Until Kakashi slammed him into the ground. In quick order all but one Naruto dissipated in puffs of smoke and Sakura's back met the trunk of another tree.

"My, aren't you three clever," Kakashi observed. The bored tone was worse than a sneer.

"Scatter." The monotone command echoed over the clearing, better than a shout. Sakura gave no thought to Sasuke's order, scrambling to her feet to obey. Two Naruto's grabbed her arms and helped her away as more jumped around the clearing to create confusion.

Their frantic escape gave no time to think. Putting one foot in front of another took enough energy. If the Narutos had not been with her, Sakura doubted she would have gotten away.

When the two hands released her, the kunoichi gratefully sunk to the ground, lungs heaving for air. The clones dissipated, leaving her alone in the woods to recover.

"The bastard got himself trapped." Sakura squeaked at Naruto's voice.

"Don't do that!"

Naruto blinked in confusion before sheepishly scratching his head. "Sorry Sakura-chan."

Regaining her composure, Sakura waved the apology off. "What did you say?"

Scowling, Naruto glanced back at the way he'd come. "Sasuke got caught in one of Kakashi-sensei's jutsus. Bastard's buried in dirt from the neck down."

Alarmed Sakura bolted up. "We have to go get him!"

"Why bother," Naruto shrugged.

Sakura hit him on the shoulder. "How can you even say that?"

"I'm not the one who goes all googely eyed at the sight of him," Naruto snipped.

Glaring, Sakura ignored the odd stab of pain the comment made. "That's not the point. Sasuke-kun's our teammate!"

"He doesn't want to be; or did you forget what the bastard said?"

"Well," Sakura scrambled for words. "How would you feel being stuck with a girl who can't fight and an idiot that failed three times when you're the best in the class?"

"So I'm just some idiot? How do you think I feel being stuck with a guy with a permanent stick up his ass? He probably gets his grades because he so popular."

"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that. You have no idea what life is like for him."

"And you do? All you girls see is a pretty face and the 'great Uchiha' name. Things like personality don't matter to you."

"As if you guys are any different; who wants an ugly girl when they can get a pretty one?"

"It's better than nothing when all the girls are so shallow."

"Shallow! If that's how you think, it's no wonder you can't get a girl friend."

"I wouldn't want one if they'd drop me like a sack of rice if Uchiha ever looked their way."

"Oh grow up Ron!"

Naruto spun and began to stop away before freezing. Sakura replayed the conversation in her head to keep from hyperventilating. Why did she have to slip up now?

Naruto spun around, finger pointed accusingly. "You've been talking to the Old Man, haven't you?" Sakura's panicked face told him all he needed. "Man, I know he likes to tease me, but to tell my teammates? Why not just tell the whole class?"

The blond's scowl fled, eyes widening. "He didn't, did he?" Naruto glanced at the frozen Sakura. "Oh man," the blond groaned, slapping a palm over his face. "I know I skip a lot, but he didn't have to do that! No wonder everyone thinks I'm an idiot. I mean what kind of ninja believes in magic and-"

"Woah, wait – wait." Sakura interrupted. Everything was too confusing to take in. "What are you talking about?"

"Old man Hokage! The old fart told you guys about Hogwarts and stuff. How much did he say?" Naruto began to pace. "I mean, I know he never promised or anything, but I didn't think he'd blab. I was little, you know? I haven't called myself 'Ron' in forever, so just try to put it aside, okay?" Naruto looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. "I mean, everyone does stupid stuff as a kid, right?

The painful hope on his face fell as Sakura remained silent. She couldn't believe this was happening.

_- It's Ron! It's Ron, like I'm Hermoine. I knew I wasn't crazy, but noooo – 'Poor little Sakura' just couldn't be telling the truth. And like a good little girl, I let them mess me all up. -_

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" The murmur became a shout as Sakura desperately tried to quiet the exuberant voice inside her.

"Alright, I see how it is." Naruto's voice warbled and his typical energy was missing. Sakura looked up in time to see him dashing away.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"No!" Naruto grunted in surprise as Sakura tackled him. "Don't you dare leave before I figure this out."

Naruto spat a leaf out of his mouth before twisting his neck to look at the girl latched to his back. "Sakura-chan?"

"Can't you be quiet for one second?" The fond tone sent chills up his spine. What was going on? First she mocks him, then she ignores him, and now she refused to let him leave her alone.

"What are you doing Sakura-chan?"

Sakura glared at him with a smile. "I'm trying to think. Can't you be patient?" The gentile smile directed at him kept him from answering. What the hell?

There was a long period of silence before Sakura released him with a deep sigh. Naruto sat up and brushed himself off before studying his teammate. What was she thinking?

"The Hokage didn't tell me."

"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent reply.

"About Hogwarts," Sakura clarified. "The Hokage didn't tell me."

Naruto's face scrunched. "Then who…" He trailed off when Sakura tapped the side of her head like it meant something. When the message failed to reach him, Sakura sighed again.

"Look, no one told me. I just remember Hogwarts." Jade green eyes pierced him. "Like you do."

The shake of his head was instinctive denial. "Oh no you don't. I 'm not going to fall for that. Dreams are dreams; nothing more, nothing less." The mantra old man Hokage taught him when it all felt so real came easily.

"What about prophecies? Are those just dreams?"

"There's no such thing as a prophecy."

"So Harry's life was destroyed for nothing?"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did he have to go through all this again? "Look, if the old man didn't tell you, fine. I don't care how you know. Harry and Hermoine are just imaginary friends I made up as a kid. They aren't real."

"So I'm not real?" Naruto stopped halfway from standing up. Sakura's face held no hint of the joke she was pulling. In fact, she looked pained or lost, not entertained.

"What?"

"You said Hermoine wasn't real. Does that mean I'm not real?" The question felt so absurd, it hardly registered. But the pain behind her eyes forced Naruto to sit back down.

"What are you trying to say, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes closed. She took several deep breaths. When she opened them again Naruto leaned away from the determination glinting in them. "I'm Hermoine."

"Can't be," Naruto shot back. Even if it was Sakura, he wasn't going to let this pass.

"Why not?"

"I told you. Hermoine's just an imaginary friend from when I was a kid."

"Hermoine was your best friend with Harry Potter."

"In my dreams maybe, but they don't exist Sakura-chan." Maybe his teammate hit her head. He'd chew out the old man later. Right now he needed to keep Sakura from doing something crazy. "Why are you trying to convince me?" He wanted to leave, just walk away, but he couldn't. Not when Sakura's eyes started to water. He blamed it on his stupid crush.

"Hermoine has to be real."

"Why?"

"Because I'm crazy if she isn't"

"You're not crazy Sakura-chan." Maybe Iruka could help. The chunin could always fix the weird situations Naruto got in.

"Then what am I?" The harsh question startled him.

"Huh?" Naruto Uzumaki: conversationalist expert.

"Before I moved to Konoha, my village was attacked by bandits. When Dad died I started remembering about Death Eaters and how Dad died the same way, except a cutting curse instead of a sword. I remember Hogwarts and Harry and Ron and no one believed me. Mom blamed trauma and refused to hear anything about it, but I haven't forgotten. I can't, no matter how hard I try."

Naruto blinked. "Oookay…" What was he supposed to do? Jump for joy, walk away, get Iruka, yell at her for taking a joke too far? But her eyes kept him still. If green was brown, he could believe he was looking at Hermoine's eyes. They were the same eyes after Siruis died; when nothing they tried helped Harry and Hermoine didn't have any other answers.

Standing, Naruto growled in frustration. "Argh! I can't think about this. We need to rescue Sasuke!"

Sakura jumped a bit at his shout. She blinked at him twice as he struggled not to storm off in frustration. Then she gave a quiet smile, just like Hermoine did after she cried, and wiped her eyes. "So now you want to help Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, okay." Sakura held her hands up in surrender at Naruto's glare. "But how are we going to get Sasuke-kun and the bells. Nothing has worked so far, and the alarm will be going off soon."

The alarm sounding would signal noon and end the test. Why hadn't he thought about it before? The idea sparked and caught fire. It was perfect. Grinning, Naruto crouched and told Sakura the plan.

-Scene Break-

The ground itched. Dirt crawled down his back. Earth trapped his limbs. There was just enough room to shift and cause more dirt to run under his clothes. His head was free, but without his hands, the itch on the side of his nose was going to drive him crazy.

If Kakashi's lecture didn't get to him first.

The gray-haired ninja believed Sasuke was the leader of Team 7's attack. Every point of stupidity and shoddy teamwork was picked apart; blamed on the Uchiha's poor planning. Sasuke didn't bother correcting the man.

As far as he was concerned, the test was over.

Naruto and Sakura were not the teammates he wanted. Kakashi was not the instructor that could teach him what he needed. The one year delay may be better in the long run.

"Hey bastard!" Sasuke refused to turn.

Kakashi glanced idly in Naruto's direction before doing a visible double check.

"Yeah, that's right. You were pretty mad when Sasuke-bastard grabbed this. Wanna bet you'll freak if I rip it up?"

Kakashi glare passed over Sasuke's head, but he could still feel the heat of it. Before Naruto had a chance to do more than blink, Kakashi appeared behind the blond. The idiot dissipated in a harmless puff of smoke when the jounin struck while snatching the book.

Wild cries of revenge echoed around the clearing as dozens of clones charged at the jounin. With a grunt of effort, Sasuke flicked his fingers minutely to force the packed dirt surround him to loosen via magical banishment. The Uchiha stood just as Sakura arrived.

"Sasuke-kun! You're free." The girl's tone was half awed, half curious. At least she didn't squeal. A hand gripping his shirt stopped him from leaving. Sasuke stared at the fan girl, waiting for her to let go.

"U-um. There's not much time before the alarm rings, but Naruto thought we could grab them while he's fighting."

Sasuke snorted. Now the idiot wanted to tag team the jounin. Shrugging off the girl's hold, Sasuke strode away. Sakura watched him for several heartbeats before diving in after Naruto.

Interesting. Sasuke expected her to give up when he refused to play along. Kakashi handled the two genin with relative ease. The kunoichi did not give up despite being pushed back each time.

Sasuke glanced at the sun. The test would be over soon. Watching his would-be teammates beat their heads again a metaphorical wall made him think. A ten minute spar with a jounin was the least he could get for a wasted day and a year set back.

Weaving in and out of orange clad bodies, dodging Kakashi's strikes and trying for a bell took Sasuke's entire concentration. When a loud clamor from the original clearing echoed through the forest, Team 7 held no bells.

Sakura collapsed where she stood. Sasuke leaned against a tree to catch his breath. An angry Naruto was physically restrained by Kakashi.

"Well, no one got the mission objective. I wonder why?" Sasuke moved to avoid Naruto as Kakashi flung the blond at him.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Naruto yelled while sprawled at the base of the tree.

Kakashi cocked his head while retrieving the orange book from his waist pouch. "I'm afraid the time limit is up Naruto. You only had until noon to take the bells from me."

Before Kakashi could raise his book to read a cloud of smoke engulfed it. Sasuke blinked as the jounin hefted a Naruto by his jacket collar. That Naruto gave a cheeky grin before slipping out of the jacket and dashing towards the one near Sasuke.

Kakashi's kunai caught the clone before it made it that far. "Nice try, but the alarm already rang."

"Actually sensei," Sakura spoke while limping towards Sasuke. Sasuke caught something small and cold when she tossed it his way. Looking down revealed a cherry sized bell with blades of grass stuffed in the openings. Removing the grass allowed the clear tingle of their 'mission objective' to announce Team 7's success.

"I reset your alarm to give us five more minutes after it rang," Sakura finished while letting her own bell jangle merrily. The book clone passed the bells off before it made a run for it.

No one spoke while Kakashi processed this revelation. Sasuke continued to stare at the bell in his palm. Revulsion, elation and a thick jealousy - of the two morons that managed what he had not - bubbled inside him. A wave of inadequacy, firmly repressed by years of stubborn adherence to the Uchiha clan's pride, tried to escape.

"Congratulations Sakura. You and Sasuke pass. Naruto will receive no lunch and be sent back to the Academy."

"What!" Naruto and Sakura were in stereo again.

"But sensei, Naruto was the one-"

"Hey! That's not fair! I-"

The argument faded as Sasuke watched the dangling bell in his hand.

It wasn't worth it.

Naruto's rant cut short as the bell smacked him in the head. The blond blinked at the object he caught on reflex. "Hey, bastard! What's the big idea?"

Sasuke was already leaving. "I don't need it." Looking back he smirked. "Idiot."

Let him think it was pity. The Uchiha refused to accept a pass he didn't earn. Everyone needed to see, the Uchiha clan still made the best ninjas; even if there was only one in Konoha.

"Naruto didn't have a bell at noon, Sasuke. He'll still be sent to the Academy."

Sasuke's slow walk didn't falter. "Doesn't matter. I'll wait another year." Another year to train, another year to find a better team, and another year to wait. After all, Itachi wasn't going anywhere.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait, Sasuke-kun!" The Uchiha clamped down on the urge to run. Sakura, dragging a sulking Naruto, caught up as Sasuke reached the main clearing. She caught her breath while Sasuke found his discarded equipment bag.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun. We'll be going back to the Academy with you." That comment stopped him. The idiots managed to steal the bells from a jounin by dumb luck and now they refused the honor of passing?

Hands clenched as the urge to kill rose.

And he'd have to deal with them for another year.

"What's wrong Sasuke-bastard. Regret throwing that bell at me?" The Uchiha didn't need to turn to know Naruto was grinning at his discomfort. "After all, you're still stuck with 'those two'."

Sasuke allowed one more squeeze of his fist, nails piercing skin, before closing his eyes and repressing the anger. Occulamancy made the Uchiha's trademark calm far easier than Sasuke ever managed as a child.

Swinging his pack over his shoulder, Sasuke gave his former teammates a cool glance. "Just don't fail this time idiot." The blond glared and Sakura resisted swooning as the Uchiha started off again.

"Congratulations!" Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves. This one was far more cheerful than the casual statement prior. "You three pass!"

Sasuke ran the words through his head half a dozen times. It still didn't register.

Naruto was already celebrating.

"Sensei?" Sakura displayed the confusion Sasuke felt. "Why..."

Naruto paused, fist in the air to hear Kakashi's answer.

"What's the most important thing about being a ninja?"

"Kicking butt!" Naruto immediately answered.

Sakura bit her lip and said in a hesitant voice, "Completing missions?"

When Sasuke stayed silent Kakashi moved. The equipment bag dug into Sasuke's back, the combined weight of it and Kakashi pinned one of Sasuke's arms beneath him. His left arm was trapped in Kakashi's left hand while the jounin aimed a kunai at Sasuke's throat with his right.

"Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies," Kakashi ordered.

"No!" Sakura screamed, throwing herself in front of Naruto. "Let Sasuke go!"

The three men blinked at her. A self proclaimed Uchiha fan girl, shielding the village idiot over her crush's life.

Sasuke warred between insult and relief. The kunai at his throat dropped a fraction.

"Okay..." Kakashi drawled. "It looks like you might understand without knowing Sakura-chan." The jounin stood with ease.

"The first thing a ninja must know is 'a ninja who abandons their mission is trash, but a ninja who abandons their teammates is less than trash.'"

Sasuke didn't bother brushing the dirt off his clothes. His earlier experience buried in the ground killed any attempt of cleanliness without a shower.

"Teamwork. You were testing our teamwork. The limited number of bells, dividing of forces, and refusing to accept Naruto – It was all meant to test our level of teamwork." Sakura's dazed realization echoed the half-formed thoughts in Sasuke's mind.

"Correct. No genin fresh from the Academy could defeat an experienced jounin, but three working together have a chance."

Except Sasuke had no part in the plan that won the bells. Except Kakashi hadn't been using half his true speed. Except Sasuke needed to defeat a man whose skill was beyond an 'experience jounin.'

No matter. Sasuke wouldn't turn down a pass the second time.

The two idiots might follow him again.

-Scene Break-

Hatake Kakashi was still pondering his new genin team when he arrived at the Hokage tower. As usual, he was the last instructor to have the results on his team. The only two who had passed their teams were Asuma and Kurenai.

No one seemed surprised that he actually passed a team this year. With Uchiha Sasuke on the team, many of the jounin believed Kakashi would pass his team no matter what. That wasn't true, but the Copy-nin let them think what they wanted.

The instructors traditionally exchange information about the skills they had observed their genin using and tell how the team passed the test.

Asuma went the lazy route. His team were ordered to cross an obstacle course designed to need three or more participants. The only surprise was the twist Shikamaru gave a few of the obstacles.

When the team reached the drop and crawl area, Ino refused to continue. The wire would ruin her outfit and catch in her hair. After a ten minute rant the dark-hair boy rolled his eyes, muttered about it being too troublesome, and began cutting the wires so they could pass without killing Ino's fashion sense.

The short swamp the three needed to wade started another rant from Ino. When Chouji mentioned how his potato chips were going to be ruined, Shikamaru once more rolled his eyes before having Chouji hand him his bag of food. The new genin let Chouji carry Ino over on his shoulders and then got a ride himself. He claimed it was too troublesome to have two people soaked in mud if one of them was willing to give the other two a ride. Chouji's food was unharmed and the large boy didn't mind at all.

When they reached the wall climb after that, the mud was supposed to hinder the team and make it more difficult to climb. Ino and Shikamaru didn't have that problem thanks to Chouji, but it would be more difficult for their third teammate. Shikamaru took one look at the wall before telling his friend to Meat Tank it. One Akamichi family jutsu later and the three genins strolled through a new hole in the wall.

Kurenai went next. Her team passed a tracking test with flying colors. It was nothing more than the three teammates using their family traits in tandem. No extra surprises and no odd outlooks; just the Hyuuga byakugan, an Inuzuka dog, and some Aburame bugs.

"So did you still do the old bell test Kakashi?" He nodded to the Hokage in affirmation. "I see. So who was tied to the stump?" The jounin shrugged before admitting no one had. "Really? How closed did they each get to getting a bell?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "They all got one at one point or another." The look of shock on the Hokage's face made the trouble of having a genin team worth it.

"How? What happened?" That was Kurenai. She never saw one of the bell tests, but the others had filled her with stories of all the teams he failed in the past.

"Ah. I'm still not sure." The three waited for more information but he didn't give in. "They worked well together and got the bells. Only skills of note are Naruto's kage bunshin and Sasuke's katon skills."

The two jounin narrowed their eyes at Kakashi's lack of information, but he kept his eyes on the Hokage. When Sarutobi didn't ask for more information Kakashi ended the meeting. "So… I'm meeting them tomorrow and we'll start our missions. Do you need anything else?"

The Third shook his head, waving the three off. As Kakashi turned to go, he reached in his pack to get his copy of _'Icha Icha Paradise'_. His hand met empty air.

Kakashi froze a moment before remembering what happened to it. He resisted sighing.

"Something wrong Kakashi?" He turned back to the Hokage. Giving a weak chuckle, Kakashi scratched the back of his head as the other jounin exited the room.

"I just remembered that I didn't have my book."

"Oh? Why not?" As a fellow lover of the _'Icha Icha Paradise'_ series, the Third knew Kakashi never went without a volume when in the village.

"Well… My team kind of stole it…" The Hokage just stared at him and Kakashi felt incredibly stupid. He prayed to whatever God who cared to listen that the village leader wouldn't ask more.

"Stole it?" The Jounin only nodded. "Which one?"

"Sasuke." The Hokage looked at him in disbelief. No doubt the he thought Naruto would have been the culprit. Naruto probably gave Sasuke the idea. When the Third didn't respond right away Kakashi took his cue to leave.

As he closed the Hokage's office door behind him, he heard the old man burst into laughter. Kakashi ignored the laughter and pondered over what Team 7 would do with the book. Imagining the various reactions as they realized just what was in the orange cover gave the jounin his own laughter.

Chuckling, Kakashi made his way home to pick up a different volume. He'd have to collect his missing book in the morning.

**CHAPTER SIX**

Team 7 didn't form easily.

Or quietly.

DAY 3

"Yo."

"You're late!"

"Well, you see..."

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura didn't even wait for the explanation. Sasuke continued to brood against the tree.

Kakashi hummed.

"Hey, sensei! Are we finally going to do a mission? Or do I have to fight Sasuke-bastard again?"

"Now now Naruto."

Sakura smacked Naruto upside the head. "You haven't beaten Sasuke-kun yet."

"But Sakura-chan! If Kakashi-sensei didn't stop us every time - I'd kick his ass."

Sakura smacked him again, turning back to their teacher. "What are we doing today Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well... There was a D-ranked mission available..."

"Yes!" Naruto jumped. Sakura smiled. Sasuke grunted and joined the group on the bridge. "What are we doing? Fighting bandits? Rescuing a princess?"

"Pulling weeds."

It took a moment.

"What!"

DAY 5

"Fight me, bastard!"

Sasuke started home.

"Don't walk away from me!"

Sasuke walked on.

"You're just scared I'll beat you."

Sasuke never stopped.

"Why are you running away, Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke paused.

"You don't even know the proper taijutsu forms, Naruto," Sakura interceded.

"Of course I do."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Bastard!" Naruto charged and Sasuke dodged. Two minutes later, Naruto was pinned, face in the ground.

"A ninja uses stealth. I could hear you a mile away." Sasuke started home again.

Naruto charged on silent feet. Sasuke swept his legs out from under him.

"You breathe too loud."

Naruto pushed off and tried again. Each time Sasuke won. The short cutting statements highlighted everything the blond lacked.

But Naruto didn't give up.

DAY 6

"Hit with your body, not your shoulder."

"Shut up, bastard. Don't worry Sakura-chan! You knocked out my clone. Good job!"

"It's okay Naruto. Sasuke-kun's right."

"Hn."

"Whatever." Naruto charged Sasuke again after making another clone for Sakura.

Sakura dodged her opponents blows sloppily, still off guard from Sasuke's comments. She didn't realize he watched her spar while dealing with Naruto.

A large grin bloomed on her face. Sakura attacked the Naruto clone with new determination.

DAY 10

"But Sakura-chan."

"No. Kakashi-sensei is always late by 90 minutes at minimum. You barely passed the Academy Naruto. It makes good use of the time."

"I don't need to study, Sakura-chan. I'm a ninja now."

Sakura raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "So how do you plan to deal with a mission to protect a high political figure from assassination?"

"Beat up the bad guy. What else?"

A small noise from the tree on the creek bank caught their attention. Sasuke looked as composed as ever, but a glint in his eye gave him away.

"You think that's funny, bastard?" Naruto got one leg underneath him. They didn't fight in the mornings, but the blond was willing to make an exception.

"How will you know who to 'beat-up', idiot?"

Naruto growled, fists clenched.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Sakura kept the blond from attacking. "In the Daimo's court, you can't attack anyone without just cause. A good assassin will make the first strike the last one. If you attack the wrong person, the penalty is likely death; for you."

Naruto calmed.

"If you know the different countries, and how they feel about us and other villages… well, knowing history can help tell who might pose the greatest danger to your client."

Naruto plopped back and grinnned. "But I'll have you for that."

"You planned to be a genin forever?"

"No, but-"

"Then you're going to give up Hokage."

"Of course not!"

"Then you're going to study."

"Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke ignored the deja vu he felt from listening to his teammates.

DAY 12

"Come on Ino. Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught us anything. We've already been dismissed for the day. One afternoon watching your team practice won't hurt."

Ino dithered for a bit, but the silent presence of Sasuke Uchiha made the choice simple.

"Just keep your mouth shut forehead-girl."

Sakura bit her lip and stomped on Naruto's foot to keep him from insulting Ino.

Sasuke grit his teeth when the blonde kunoichi latched on to his arm and led him to Team 10's training grounds. Listening to the girl's inane babbling, the raven haired boy had to remind himself why he was doing this.

It was all in the name of training.

DAY 14

"Hey, Sakura-chan. How'd you do it?"

"Do what, Naruto?"

The blond gestured waved at the tree she was standing on. Sakura covered a giggle.

Jumping down, she started to explain, ignoring the subtly listing Sasuke.

"It's not just making sure you have the right amount of chakra. Feel the chakra in the tree and match it."

Naruto stared blankly.

"When you're angry or frustrated, the tree rejects your chakra and it takes more chakra to stay attached. Being calm requires less."

"Umm... Sakura-chan... the tree can't feel anything."

Smack.

"Chakra differs between every person. Chakra in plants is different than in humans or animals. It's the plant chakra you need to be aware of."

Grumbling, the blond headed back to his tree, cursing the "generous gift" Asuma gave Team 7 after forbidding them from watching Team 10's practice.

Sasuke looked thoughtful.

DAY 20

"Stupid bastard."

Sakura said nothing.

"Lazy no good-jounin."

Sasuke hummed his agreement.

"He's not just ignoring us. He's trying to make us fail."

Sakura resisted agreeing.

"What's his problem anyway? The brats were fine."

Sasuke almost nodded.

"The sadistic bastard probably likes to hear them screaming. Well next time, he can watch the little ankle biters."

Sakura smiled. An image of a two year old clinging to a Naruto clone's leg after it removed its henge competed with an eight month old chewing on a block that started as a clone.

Naruto had to wrestle the clone block from the toddler before it could be dismissed. The point of suffering through the humiliation was rendered null and void when Kakashi forbid Team 7 from juggling kunai to entertain the three kids.

The kids weren't in danger. Naruto's clones were henged into toys that surrounded the kids in the unlikely case of accidents.

It seemed typical of their jounin instructor. Any attempts to incorporate training in the dull D-rank missions was shot down each time.

"Stupid bastard."

Team 7 walked united in thought for the first time.

Even if Naruto was the only one wiling to voice it.

DAY 25

Up. Down. Back and forth. Dodge, block, and parry. Attack, retreat, charge and ambush.

Right-side up, sideways or upside down. Direction didn't matter. It was a three-way free for all in the trees.

When they finished, Sasuke would point out their weak points. Naruto would complain about a plan he should have used or one that Sasuke messed up. Sakura would change the complaint into a debate. On a good day Sasuke would make a comment.

The ritual started when Naruto challenged Sasuke to a fight using their new skill. The boys finished climbing their trees at the same time and Naruto wanted to prove he was better at tree-climbing than the Uchiha.

When Sakura physically tried to stop the fight, it turned into a free for all.

And they loved it.

When the debate wound down, they would start again. Half a dozen fights happened before they called it a night.

Despite their differences, the three started to look like a real team.

DAY 32

"I'm telling you. That cat just hates me!"

"You don't treat him right. Why shouldn't he hate you?" The fat gray cat smirked while nestled in Sakura's arms.

"The fur-ball hates me just because it can," Naruto declared.

"Nonsense. You're just prejudiced against cats." Naruto saw the triumphant gleam in the pampered beast's eyes.

"At least Crookshanks knew better than to try acting 'cute'."

Sakura's fist knocked his head before going back to crooning compliments at the unholy monster. The green-eyed glare could be for the insult or for mentioning Crookshanks. Sakura hated speaking of 'those' times in public.

It took weeks for Naruto to believe the girl was actually Hermoine. The constant lectures on education tipped the scales. It felt surreal, but the blond tried not to think too hard about it. Even if it didn't feel right, Naruto would have pretend if it meant Sakura treating him like a friend.

He could live without the lectures though. And the hits. He didn't remember Hermoine being that violent.

Rubbing his head, Naruto continued forward. A breath of air escaped him when Naruto bounced off something blocking the path.

"What was that for bastard?" Naruto glared up at the Uchiha.

"Che," Sasuke glared back. "Watch where you're going idiot."

Grumbling, Naruto stood and brushed himself off. Spending so much time with the asshole dulled the typical insults. "Why'd you stop anyway."

Crossing his arms, Sasuke stepped aside. "We're here." The implied 'duh' went unsaid.

Naruto's fists clenched regardless. With Sasuke, it was more about what wasn't said. The bastard kept everything hidden.

"Did you expect a grand parade or something?" Brushing by his teammate, Naruto stomped into the mission center. The asshole could stay outside for all he cared. Maybe the Hokage wouldn't order another stupid mission if Team 7 was missing a member.

Anything was better than another chase through the forest after a devil disguised as a cat.

-Scene Break-

Sasuke hated the continued sense of deja vu whenever Naruto and Sakura bickered. The cat arguments were worse.

Then Naruto mentioned Crookshanks. In an instant Sasuke was back in the Griffindor common room, listening to his friends.

Naruto broke him out of the memory, but it kept coming back. Was everything just a coincidence? Who, in this world, would name a cat Crookshanks?

Entering the mission center behind his team, Sasuke listened to their 'mission complete' report on autopilot. Dozens of instances since Team 7 had formed mingled with Sasuke's memories of Hogwarts.

Ron and Hermoine were the best friends he could ever have. Both had refused to let Harry continue on his quest to stop Sirius's murderer by himself. There would be none like them here.

The Uchiha massacre destroyed him. Memories, with no reason behind them, but true none-the-less, broke him.

Over time he rebuilt himself to what was needed.

Sasuke Uchiha would hunt down his brother. Sasuke Uchiha would live as his clan would wish. He was elite. He was a noble of Konoha.

And he was going crazy.

Being on a three-man team played on his secret dreams of rejoining his best friends. Sakura was not Hermoine, even if she brushed her hair behind her ear in the exact manner as his bushy haired friend.

Naruto only reminded him of Ron by his simple outlook on life. Ron was a loyal friend, a brilliant tactician and only shouted when angered. Naruto shouted all the time, was optimistic to the point of frustration and seemed to complain about everything at the same time.

And his blue eyes cried in silence while whiskered cheeks stretched in a constant grin.

The bundle of contradictions and a know-it-all fan girl wore on his nerves. Having to interact with others, after years of self-imposed isolation, made him see illusions of a past that never was.

His teammates were not his old friends. It was only his mind playing tricks. Sasuke would continue to shape his teammates into ones he could use in the Chunin Exam.

Once he gained a promotion he could leave the confusing duo behind.

Decision made, Sasuke turned his attention to the Hokage's words. "The Shimura's need another babysitter, and Madame Homada needs her groceries delivered at-"

"No!" Naruto cut off the Hokage. Plopping to the ground, the blond protested. "I'm not carrying another bag, watching a squealing brat, or chasing a cat through the woods one more time! Give us a real mission Old Man. I'm not the childish prankster you remember!" Crossing his arms across his chest, Naruto stared the Hokage down.

Used to the blond's antics, Sasuke remained silent. The D-ranked missions were a joke, but an Uchiha never complained about his duty. Still, when the Hokage met his eyes, Sasuke tried to convey his readiness. If the Saidaime chose to assign a higher-ranked mission, all the better.

"Alright Naruto," Iruka's lecture on proper decorum spluttered to a halt at the Hokage's reply. "I think I have just the mission for you."

"Really?" Naruto's face split between joy and disbelief. The Hokage chuckled as he handed the list of D-rank mission to a chunin behind him and tossed another mission scroll to Kakashi.

"Of course, I expect you to use all your ability for this C-ranked mission," the Hokage instructed with mock gravity.

Jumping from his spot Naruto cheered. "No problem. You can count on Naruto Uzumaki!" At least the idiot refrained from dancing. Sakura had calmed him down slightly in their last month of training.

"Don't leave it at that old man Hokage! What's the mission?"

The Hokage took his time lighting his ever present pipe and taking a long drag. Sasuke expected another outburst from Naruto, but the blond only watched the dragged out motions with rolled eyes.

"Send him in," the Hokage ordered. Turning to the door adjoining the public reception area, Team 7 was graced with a pot-bellied man leaning against the door jam. His rosy cheeks, hidden by scruffy hair, indicated the large gourd of sake in the man's hand was likely near empty.

The man studied them in return before taking another pull from the sake gourd. "Is this what I paid for?" The voice was rough and grumbling. Sasuke imagined it would be similar to a bear waken early from hibernation.

The entire set-up was ludicrous. Their client, Tazuna, was a drunk bridge builder from Wave who had no respect for ninja; Ninja that could kill him three dozen ways before he could blink.

Naruto lost his patience and would have demonstrated that fact if Kakashi didn't interfere. Sakura retreated to the shy polite girl she used in public. The fan girl had backed off on her pursuit of him since the bell test. Sasuke wondered if it was a new plot to catch him when he lowered his guard.

But that didn't explain the strange relationship between Naruto and Sakura that just appeared out of nowhere. The odd references to things no one should know kept Sasuke on his toes.

His best theory was a wizarding world that paralleled the ninja world he lived in. Wizard loved to hide, why couldn't they do so here as well as Britain? He half wished it was true. A wand would be far more useful than the limited wand-less magic he could do.

"Alright team. Gather your supplies and meet at the eastern gate in half an hour." Kakashi ordered before disappearing. The jounin was completely unreliable.

Sasuke turned to their drunken client. What route were they taking to Wave? What kind of climate did Tazuna's area receive? Were there any trouble areas he was concerned with? What kind of opponents would the genin face?

Team 7 did not like Tazuna's answers.

The drunkard hemmed and hawed over most of the questions until he managed to blame the time as an excuse to leave. After all, the client had to get ready as well.

"Sakura, bring your tent for Naruto to carry. Naruto, you'll use one of ours while the other's on watch."

"I don't take orders from you bastard."

"Do you have a tent, Naruto?" Naruto grumbled, but didn't answer Sakura's question.

Sasuke never worried about Naruto obeying his orders. Sakura ended up making him do what the Uchiha ordered regardless of the blond's objections.

"We'll need three day's rations, ramen doesn't count, water and purifying pills for later refills. Sakura, bring enough for Tazuna. I'll grab enough for Kakashi."

"That lazy bastard probably expects us to cook for him too," Naruto griped.

"Naruto, you're on traps. I'll get your rations, just make sure you've got supplies for a good defense perimeter."

"Shut up bastard! I'll get the traps and my food!"

"No ramen."

"But Sakura-chan!"

"Please Naruto. Don't argue this time. I have to explain all this to Mother."

The two boys went silent at the reminder of Sakura's still living parent.

"I'll get the rations. You get the tent and talk to your mother."

"I'll get Sakura-chan's food. You just worry about yourself bastard."

"Thank you Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled while smacking Naruto.

"Meet up two blocks north east of the west gate." Sasuke started off while Naruto and Sakura continued their debate on traps and food supplies. The Uchiha caught sight of a dumbstruck Iruka next to a proud looking Hokage as he walked out the door.

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Sakura had plenty of time to think. She needed to make sure Mother understood she was leaving for an extended amount of time on a ninja mission. She carefully prepared her arguments and steeled herself for the tears her mother would no doubt shed.

But her mother wasn't home. Typical.

Sakura wrote a note to explain her absence and headed for the library. There were no newspapers here as she remembered in Britain, but occasional large metropolitan areas had an infrequent newsletter. Konoha's public library was a well known collector of such newsletters. With all the ninja information that could not be made public, the newsletters made up most of the library's inventory.

Sakura pored over various maps but only found two areas that wrote newsletters near Wave country: Hidden Ninja Village of Mist and Koreji.

The newsletter from Mist was similar to the one produced in Konoha: lots of words and very little substance. And it was all about the village. There would be nothing about the bordering country of Wave.

Koreji was a port town just to the north of Fire country's borders. Being a port town there could be some information about Wave.

Sakura used her last half hour to skim through the various papers Konoha kept. There weren't many but the majority focused on Gatou Corporation. The overflowing praise caught her attention at first. She back tracked it through three years. The issue just before the first sugary sweet article held no hint of a new company arriving in Koreji. It seemed to spring up in the six weeks between newsletters. If she relied on the paper's information, the Gatou Corporation was the savior of Koreji and could do no wrong.

There was no time to do additional research. She left the newsletters out for the librarians to resort and dashed for the meeting place.

Naruto and Sasuke were arguing over food rations when she arrived.

"Shut up. Ramen's good for you."

"It has no nutritional value. You can't live off ramen and you can't bring it on a mission."

"Of course I can! It's light weight and fills you up a lot more than those stupid bars."

"Can you eat it uncooked?"

Naruto's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he scowled and turned away. Catching sight of Sakura brightened the blond up. "Sakura-chan! Did your mom give you a hard time?"

Sakura shook her head. "I stopped by the library…" She trailed off when both boys rolled their eyes in synch. Naruto she was used to. Sasuke never broke from his cool façade.

The Uchiha didn't notice the slip. Sakura continued with what she found and how the Gatou Corporation didn't feel right.

"But Sakura-chan. Koreji isn't in Wave."

Sakura slapped the back of Naruto's head. "They're a port town that should have strong ties to Wave. Wave is an island. The only way to get goods that they country doesn't naturally produce is by ship. There are no other significant ports near Wave."

"A bridge will disrupt their monopoly," Sasuke added.

"So…." The blond prompted.

Sakura sighed before spelling it out for Naruto. "It means that Tazuna-san might be targeted by someone rather than normal bandits."

"That's what the old fart was hiding!"

Sakura and Sasuke ignored Naruto's rant while distributing the supplies the boys had gathered. By the time Naruto ran down the three packs were ready to go. They met up with Tazuna and waited for only half an hour before Kakashi arrived.

The three kept silent about their discovery. This was a real mission.

Team 7 would show what they were worth.

-Scene Break-

Sasuke knew the puddle was suspicious. He didn't expect the two ninjas to be hiding in it. While the brothers were tied up to the tree, and Kakashi was busy drilling Tazuna, the Uchiha double checked the ground.

No pit. No slight depressions. Not even a footprint to differentiate the previous puddle patch from the rest of the road.

Genjutsu.

Sasuke frowned and turned the fight over in his head as Team 7 resumed their journey.

He was on alert after spotting the pool of water in such a dry location. The 'slaughter' of Kakashi still surprised him. The two ninjas moved for Naruto and didn't bother to watch for outside attacks. The Uchiha's shuriken took out their chain and Naruto broke out of his shock when Sasuke engaged in hand to hand.

Too late.

The brother's chain gave way and Sasuke could only intercept one ninja. Naruto wasn't in a place to act when the other charged straight at Tazuna. Whether Sakura would have pulled through, Sasuke didn't know. Kakshi's 'miraculous' reappearance saved the kunoichi from fight.

It all came down to two points: the genjutsu and multiple opponents.

Sasuke knocked his enemy out with little difficulty. Naruto gave him more of a work out. But he couldn't handle two at the same time when trying to protect something. And he never suspected a genjutsu. The Demon Brothers likely stood in plain sight, but the Uchiha didn't see them.

It was unacceptable. Correcting that mistake is the first thing he would do upon returning to Konoha.

An Uchiha could not be so weak.

-Scene Break-

Zabuza came from nowhere. Kakshi's split second shout kept Team 7 alive. The massive sword spun so close, Naruto swore the hair on the back of his neck was shaved.

Naruto watched his jounin instructor talk with the "demon of the mist" and felt fear shiver down his spine. Is this how the villagers saw him?

The guy was a freak: bare-chested, bandages wrapped around his mouth, and red eyes glaring beneath a shaved brow. His sword, easily wielded in one hand, was almost as large as Zabuza.

The eyes were spooky, but the sword was just plain cool; when it wasn't trying to slice Naruto in half. The blond wondered if Zabuza would be scary without those two things.

When the fog filled the clearing, Naruto squinted to see anything at all. The echoing murmur of possible one-hit kills intensified the foreboding feeling that chilled him to the bone.

Then Kakashi died. Again.

Granted, the jounin stabbed Zabuza first, but when it turned out to be a clone, Kakashi was the one in trouble. The first time Kakashi 'died', Naruto froze in a combination of horror and flashbacks. Many of the deaths in the magic war were bloodless. The killing curse left no marks but death itself.

But several death eaters, like Bellatrix and McNair, reveled in the more gory curses. Hermoine's home was attacked by the later. The bloodied heads of her parents were the largest piece of either body.

Naruto half cursed and half thanked Sasuke's quick reactions and the casual slap upside the head when the Uchiha passed him to attack the Demon Brothers. It broke the trance of memories for him to be of some use, but Naruto vowed not to need that help again. When Kakashi died the second time, Naruto created three clones, henged one and dragged Tazuna out of the fight before the bushin smoke cleared. The henged clone played decoy and Naruto only hoped Zabuza didn't notice a difference.

Sasuke readied a fire attack, but never used it when another Kakashi attacked Zabuza right after the first Kakashi melted into water. The jounin fight worked as the perfect distraction. Making three more clones, Naruto signaled Team 7 back while two clones transformed into his teammates.

The clones with Tazuna stayed nearby while the true Team 7 took cover in the tree tops. Rapid hand signals flashed between the three genin when Kakashi fell into Zabuza's trap. By the time the enemy stopped posturing and discovered his targets were shadow clones, Team 7 was already moving.

Sasuke took the water route with Sakura on back-up. Naruto jumped into battle head first. The Zabuza clone finished the transformed shadow clones off in one swipe, only to be bombarded by Naruto's horde of new clones.

Naruto stood no chance. One hit kills each time: that was Zabuza in a nut shell. The enemy jounin dealt with the clone army as a civilian would swat flies out of the air. Better even. Kakashi was never half as brutal. Naruto felt like he died a thousand times in a space of minutes.

Sasuke managed a point blank fire ball to free Kakashi and Team 7 regrouped at Sakura's location. She was keeping a close eye on the chakra levels of the two jounins. The kunoichi gave Naruto enough warning to run more clones to Tazuna's location before Kakshi's wave attack wiped out the forest ground. With Zabuza slumped against the tree, the battle was won.

Team 7 never relaxed their guard. Tazuna joined the group in time to see the masked mist-nin spirit Zabuza away. Too bad Kakashi decided to faint right after the hunter-nin left with the body. By this time Naruto didn't trust his eyes. Kakshi always showed up good as new, this must be another of the jounin's sadistic pranks.

But Kakashi never got back up. Sakura check him over, but the man was uninjured. She thought he might just be worn out. In the last few days of travel, the jounin never slept despite each genin taking a turn at night watch.

Naruto made a few bushin to carry the jounin. Tazuna's home shouldn't be too far.

"Come on old man, or do you need to be carried home too?"

The silent Tazuna blinked at Naruto's insult. His sake gourd remained untouched since Zabuza's sword first sliced through the air. Rolling his eyes, Naruto brought his hands up to make more clones.

That was enough to snap the bridge builder back to reality. "Hold on brat. I ain't letting some snot-nosed ninja yank me around one more time. Is this how they teach you to treat your paying customers?"

"You're alive aren't you? Why should I make nice for a cheap old guy like you?"

"I paid you to help me home and build my bridge; not to drag me across the woods."

"You paid for protection. Congrats old man, you're protected. In case you didn't notice, that wasn't a common bandit."

Tazuna grunted and took a long swallow from his gourd. Staring at Naruto he gave a nod of acknowledgement to the team's success. Naruto grinned and started off on the path they were following before Zabuza arrived.

"Next time make sure to 'protect me' a bit sooner."

"What!" Naruto spun around at the old man's jibe only to watch Tazuna stroll pass him while taking another lingering drink of sake.

Naruto stomped after the bridge builder, taking the rear position as Sasuke scouted ahead. "Next time I'll leave your ass to rot old man."

"Then I'm not gonna pay you a single cent brat."

"You're not paying enough as it is cheapskate."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the bickering pair, keeping an eye on Kakashi as well as the surroundings. Count on Naruto to break the tension of the moment.

-Scene Break-

If he ignored the bickering duo, the last leg of their journey was silent, maddening silence. No hostile opponents, no signs of danger; there was hardly as sign of local wildlife. After the last battle that took out their jounin instructor, Sasuke should be grateful for the silence. Instead, he cursed it.

His resolve back in Konoha was shattered. The moments of déjà vu, the random comments that hinted at things that shouldn't exist, they all could be rationalized. Sasuke could convince himself he was jumping at shadows.

The clear communication in the heat of battle - with hand signals from a dreamed past -that wasn't easily dismissed.

In that battle he was Harry Potter. Ron and Hermoine were at his side, ready for anything. Hermoine came up with the sign language to keep the boys from losing points for talking in class.

Voldemort's return gave the skill a more useful application. After Sirius died, Harry threw himself into training ignoring regular classes. When his friends failed to change his mind, they followed.

It was Ron that figured out how to use the room of requirement for battle practice. The fiasco in the department of mysteries taught Ron that a fight was nothing like a wizard's duel. The fake battles with masked Death Eaters honed the trio's skill. Hermoine adapted their classroom signs to be perfect for ambush communications.

That year ended with a bang – as always.

Voldemort attacked Hogsmeade. Rather than listen to the professors, the Gryffindors snuck out to join the Ministry Aurors and Order members. Ron and Hermoine helped cut a path in the chaos to the menacing figure overlooking the wizarding village. The Dark Lord reveled in the violence and his scar pulsed with pain the closer they got.

But they did it. He watched Ron take out Lucius Malfoy with a blasting curse and Hermoine behead Bellatrix Lestrange. His two friends kept the Death Eaters from interfering while he dueled Voldemort.

The man who gave up his muggle heritage did not do well with the guerilla tactics the Boy-Who-Lived employed. Houses and random object protected him from the myriad of curses Voldemort used. Random surprise attacks hit home when Voldemort lost track of his opponents movements. The occasional curse from Ron and Hermoine kept the Dark Lord on his toes.

Then, when the Dark Lord fell, the three used a spell, created by Hermoine, which locked Voldemort's soul into an object. The twisted being couldn't resurrect himself again, and none of the three had any intention of telling how they guaranteed Voldemort's defeat this time.

He remembered staring at the random broadsword that now housed Voldemort's soul, marveling that it was done, that he was free from the burden called destiny.

Then a rat turned into a human in the corner of his eye. A flash of green took the life of the brightest witch at Hogwarts before he could even turn around. Before the shock wore off, another flash of green washed over him.

And now he was Sasuke Uchiha. Harry Potter was dead. He believed Ron killed Wormtail before the rat could do more harm, but Hermoine was already gone.

So why did it feel like he was back in the Gryffindor trio? And how did Naruto and Sakura know those hand signs? ANBU used different signals.

And why weren't they bothered by the strange occurrences, or asking Sasuke how he knew the same signs they used? After all, Naruto and Sakura were using them when Sasuke joined in. If the wizarding world still existed, did Ron teach others after they were killed? Naruto's loud personality and Sakura's red tinted hair could come from the Weasley line. Was he in the far future instead of a different world?

Too many questions hounded him. Sasuke spent a great deal of effort looking for distractions on the trail, but it was quiet; annoyingly quiet.

Without something else to focus on, Sasuke's mind threw question after question, coming up with a variety of troublesome theories. By the time Tazuna's house came in to view, the Uchiha was ready to kill someone if he didn't get answers soon.

"Father!" A dark-haired woman ran out of the two-story home settled near the river bank. Taznua broke off the current verbal battle with Naruto to greet his daughter.

"Wait up old man," Naruto blocked Tazuna's path. The new woman paused as Sakura stepped in front of her and politely introduced herself. She extended a hand in greeting, which Tazuna's daughter blinked at. The woman glanced at Sakura's face and back to the hand before Sakura reached out to take the woman's hand in a firm grip.

When she released the hand, Sakura moved out of the way and Naruto followed. Tazuna's daughter hesitated only a moment before finishing her dash and embracing her father.

Tazuna held his daughter and glared at Naruto. "What was that for brat!"

"Shut it old man. We're just doing our job."

"You think my own daughter would attack me?"

"I would if I was related to an old fart like you."

"Of course you would. Don't you know that midgets attack everyone they see?"  
"Why you-"

"Enough," Sasuke barked. Everyone went quiet, even Tazuna's daughter who was crying into her father's shoulder.

Sasuke took a deep breath, settling his emotions to deal with their client. "You're targeted by skilled ninjas. Even a genin can look exactly like another person. Touch will dispel a typical henge technique." Tazuna nodded in understanding, shifting his feet under Sasuke's stare.

"We need to scout the area, get our instructor settled, and discuss how best to protect you until he recovers. Sakura, take care of Kakashi-sensei, and check the house. Naruto, take the west side. I'll take the east."

Sakura stepped on Naruto's foot to keep him from arguing. The Uchiha didn't wait past the blond's grumbled acknowledgement before setting off.

Tazuna was worse than the idiot on his team. The bridge builder wouldn't need enemy ninja to kill him if he kept this up. Sakura was way too obedient. Why did he have to have a fan girl on his team? Why did Naruto have to argue about every little order? It was common sense to split up this way. Who cared if he was an Uchiha? Why did it matter so much to the blond?

Sasuke's movements, while searching the premises, were abrupt and sharp. The bottled frustration was screaming for an outlet the Uchiha refused to give.

The entire situation was foolish. He was in the middle of a mission. If one jounin level ninja was hired to kill Tazuna, another could follow. There was no time to grumble over old memories and confusing teammates.

But Sasuke's focus kept going back to the unimportant topics. Each time he forced his thoughts back to the mission, his frustration grew. The nagging feeling that something was wrong with Zabuza's death added to the growing snarl of anger in his gut.

Dusk arrived when Sasuke finished his inspection of the east side. He returned to the bridge builder's home holding back from grinding his teeth with an iron will.

"Welcome home!" The cheerful voice startled him. Sasuke jumped back, and held a kunai in front of him before registering Tazuna's daughter's presence. The woman's motherly smile faded in sight of the weapon. A wave of guilt washed over him before he shook it off, irritated at feeling such a weak emotion. This was not his mother. She should have known after that first meeting not to sneak up on a ninja.

But she was just a civilian. How could she sneak up on someone with Sasuke's training? Anger at himself and his lack of awareness grew. The Uchiha replaced the kunai in his weapons pouch and gave a curt nod to the woman before stepping around her.

Sakura was coming down the stairs to the left. The kunoichi smiled upon seeing her teammate and quickly made introduction to Tazuna's daughter, now identified as Tsunami. Sasuke grunted and then pushed past Sakura to the second floor. The house was small enough that the small delay gave enough time to see no one but the women were downstairs.

The first door on the right was open, with a futon laid down for Kakashi. Naruto stood next to the window, scanning the horizon. Sasuke stooped down to examine his instructor when Sakura stepped into the room and slid the tatami door closed.

"If I didn't know he was a ninja, I'd say he was sleeping. Jounin's shouldn't be able to sleep that deeply in enemy territory. I can't find any signs of poison, so the only other solution would be exhaustion."

"Hn." Sasuke read a lot of the various technique scrolls since the return of his property after become a genin. There were many higher ranked techniques that warned of chakra exhaustion if used before a ninja gained the necessary chakra, or used it when at the end of their strength.

Kakashi had a Sharingan eye, something the jounin would need to explain soon. The Sharingan required chakra to activate and maintain. With the rigid scar surrounding that eye, and the way Kakashi kept it covered, the jounin might not be able to deactivate it. That would be a constant drain, as covering it would only limit the amount of chakra it required. Added to the multiple nights of no sleep and Sasuke could see why the jounin would collapse after an intense battle.

It didn't make the aggravation at the jounin's poor planning any less. If he knew it was a possibility, why didn't he warn his team? If he didn't realize the risk, why was he out here? This might be a difficult mission for a team of genin, but a jounin or two wouldn't have a problem unless multiple high ranked ninja came after Tazuna.

The fact that might happen as well disturbed Sasuke's outward calm. The pinpricks of his fingernails stabbing his palm again warned the Uchiha he needed to calm down.

Again.

Why couldn't he push past these feelings? Minor annoyances should not cause such turmoil inside him. That they did regardless of logic just increased his frustration.

"Umm… what do we do now Sasuke-kun?" Sakura glanced at him from her kneeling place on the other side of Kakashi.

"Why are you asking that bastard?" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto!" Sakura stood, holding up a threatening fist. "Don't talk that way about Sasuke-kun!"

"Oh, so now you're going back to his loyal follower?" Naruto sighed theatrically. "And here I thought you were finally using that large brain you have."

"At least I have one. Any common sense has to be drilled into that little head of yours until it become instinct!"

"What's worse? Not having a brain, or wasting the one you've got on a stupid crush?"

"I do not have a crush on Sasuke-kun!"

The boys blinked while Sakura's face turned red and covered her mouth. Sasuke's bottled rage halted for a moment before expanding. Was he not good enough now that the fan girl got to know him? And why did he care in the first place? Wasn't this what he wanted, for Sakura to give up on her silly infatuation?

"Liar!" Naruto shouted back after recovering from the shocking statement.

Sakura switched between embarrassment and anger before folding her arms in a resigned sulk. "I don't lie. You know that Naruto," she grumbled.

Naruto didn't miss a beat. "What about when you lied to keep us out of trouble for saving you?"

"That was then. You guys were only trying to help."

"So. Still proves you lie."

"Only when it's important," Sakura argued.

"And your 'eternal love' for 'dear Sasuke-kun' isn't?" Naruto mocked.

Sakura blush spread down her neck and up her ears. "Naruto! I was a little girl! It's not applicable at this time."

Sasuke heard a muffled argument outside the tatami door. His teammates paid no attention to him as he stood and slid the door open. Tazuna and Tsunami were crouched, heads together. They froze at Sasuke's appearance, frozen mid-gesture at the bedroom containing the Konoha ninjas. Under the Uchiha's glare they straightened, smiling nervously.

"N-nice night out. Perfect for drinking a bit of sake," Tazuna remarked, making an awkward exit.

Tsunami stood stiffly, stumbling over several words before Sasuke felt calm enough to speak. "I apologize for the disturbance. Please excuse us." He gave a formal short bow to express the appropriate sincerity and waited for her stuttered acceptance, never taking his eyes off the woman.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Feel free to go about your normal routine as if we weren't here. We'll keep watch on the house tonight." He couldn't find the patience to wait for her next reply. The tatami door slid shut with a solid thunk. It was as gentle as he could force himself to be.

Turning back to the room, Sasuke watched Naruto and Sakura continue to bicker. In the short time it took to converse with Tsunami, the two moved closer to each other. Sakura was in smacking distance, but it didn't look like she had taken the opportunity to do so yet.

Emotion boiled within him. These two were the major source of his control slipping so badly. Why not make sure they knew what a mistake that was?

With subtle hand movements, Sasuke set up a magic screen that muffled voices. All their clients would hear if they tried to listen in again was an annoying buzz. Without a wand, he could only cover this small room, and it wouldn't last nearly as long as a wand spell would.

It didn't matter.

"Enough." Sasuke didn't need to shout. His killing intent went out with his quiet exclamation. Sakura and Naruto stopped mid-sentence. The slowly turned to face the Uchiha and flinched after meeting his gaze.

Nothing was said for a moment. Sakura's eyes flickered, trying to find the right response. Naruto chewed on the inside of his cheek, before his natural lack of tack showed true.

"What's your problem bastard?"

Sasuke smirked. That, more than any other response, sent a shiver of fear down Naruto's spine. Sakura bit back a whimper.

"My problem," Sasuke repeated in a low quiet tone. "Why would I have a problem?"

The two traded glances and Sakura shook her head at the comment Naruto wanted to make.

Sasuke tried to take a deep breath. He didn't want this. Taking out his anger on his teammates wasn't right. It would only prove how weak he was. He took the easy way out: change the subject. "What do you suggest we do?"

Naruto brightened at being asked. "Trap the area, keep Tazuna home and wait for Kakashi to wake up."

It was simple, but effective. Sasuke's thoughts ran parallel to Naruto's ideas. Not all hope was lost it seemed.

"You can take care of the traps," Sasuke agreed, moving to the window. "I'll take first watch, Sakura second, and Naruto last. Three hour shifts until Kakashi wakes."

He braced an arm on the open window sill to leverage himself up to the roof. A small calloused hand stopped him. Turning his head to stare at Sakura, he wondered why she kept doing that. What he a dog being brought to heel? His irritation bubbled again, and doubled when he realized how stupid such a thought was.

"Are you okay Sasuke?"

The girls question pierced him. He yanked his hand away, nose flaring as he sucked in air, mentally grasping for a measure of calmness. "Fine." He bit out, trying again to leave.

Naruto's hand on his shoulder, in an unfamiliar gesture of friendship, locked his muscles in place. "You sure about that mate?"

Again! A single word. Who said 'mate' in Konoha? And when did Naruto ever use the term? Wasn't he supposed to be 'bastard'?

The punch flew into Naruto's face before Sasuke realized he made the attack. The blond stumbled back cursing. The violent release gave Sasuke a mental hold on his temper. By the time Sakura, finished examining Naruto's nose for permanent damage, he was back to the perfect outward Uchiha.

"What was that for bastard?" Naruto probed his nose, not quite believing Sakura's prognosis of all clear.

"You were acting out of character," Sasuke replied as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"So you hit me?" Naruto stared at his teammate in disbelief.

"First strike if you proved to be an enemy." Sasuke expected Naruto to attack. A quick spar with the idiot before a three hour night watch might help.

Too bad Naruto always chose to be unpredictable when Sasuke least desired it.

"Well too bad, I'm Naruto! What the hell did I do to make you think I wasn't?" Blue eyes glared at him. Sasuke glared back.

"When was I ever your 'mate'?" The term rolled off his tongue like acid. The rage and frustration twisted in his gut. He swallowed the bile back, and closed his eyes to fight the sudden nausea down. He missed Naruto's jaw dropping, Sakura's pensive look, and the remembered sadness that crossed both their faces.

Naruto was staring at the floor when Sasuke felt well enough to open his eyes again. The blond still refused to speak, and the nausea started to rise again. Why did it hurt so much to have the truth confirmed? Sasuke Uchiha did not have friends. There was no Hermoine to help him. There was no Ron to keep him from going too far.

He turned again to leave. Sakura grabbed his arm again. Anger flared and he twisted and pushed, flinging the kunoichi to the floor. Naruto squawked in surprise before jumping his teammate. The boys grappled on the floor. Righteous fury aided Naruto while the disquieted emotions kept Sasuke from remembering half the moves he should.

For the first time since Naruto surprised him with the shadow clones, the blonde pinned him to the floor. Sasuke bucked and squirmed, not caring about his dignity. This idiot dared to treat him so lightly. To pull and prod at his emotions when the blond had no right to even glance at what was stored behind his careful mask.

Anger gave him strength. He might have gotten out of the sloppy hold but Sakura joined the idiot and pinned his legs. Naruto adjusted his hold to keep Sasuke's upper body pinned.

There was yelling and pushing and swearing, as the three fought together. It wasn't until his body slumped in exhaustion that Sasuke realized he was the one making most of the noise.

Shame washed the rest of his anger away. What had he done? He was an Uchiha. He did not throw temper tantrums. Several memories of Dudley doing so brought the nausea back to compete with his shame.

Sasuke scrunched his eyes close. Uchiha's did not cry.

"You done mate?" Naruto's face was right next to his ear. The quiet question rubbed salt in a gaping wound Sasuke just realized was there. He ground his teeth together and kept his face buried in the floor.

**ROUGH MATERIAL**

Sasuke ended up yelling a few choice phrases during his mini-break down that made things click for Sakura and Naruto. They confront him, calling him Harry and explaining how they found out about one another. Naruto is happy to have his friend, even as he's a bit cutting in remarks that Harry turned out to be the Uchiha. Sakura is just logical and quietly pleased.

Sasuke refused to believe the truth. He knew it was true, but he refused to believe it. Whenever Sakura or Naruto made mention of the past, he ignored it and went on with training or the mission.

Kakashi had woken, explained that the hunter-nin had been a decoy and started them training on water walking. The jounin instructor was surprised when his team demonstrated their knowledge of tree climbing.

On the ninth day after their encounter with Zabuza, Kakashi joined Sakura and Sasuke on the way to the bridge. It was Sasuke's turn to watch Tazuna and Kakashi felt Sakura was ready to try water walking in the shallows of the ocean. Yet, when they arrived, the workers were piled in an unconscious heap at the end of the bridge.

Zabuza and his partner appeared and Sasuke ended up fighting the fake hunter-nin. Sakura guarded Tazuna until Naruto arrived and changed the tied of battle. When Sasuke seemed to die, Sakura had to pull Naruto out of a berserk rage.

Later, Sasuke woke up after dreaming how he had watched Ron and Hermione die in front of him because he refused to be around them. His old friend's bodies transformed into Naruto and Sakura, and he knew they were the same people, just in different bodies. His apathy changed him into someone that had blood red eyes, ice cold blood and minions that bowed in tattered black robes. When one of his 'subjects' looked up from a bowed position at his feet, a skull-like mask stared back at him.

Team 7 changed a bit. Sasuke was willing to give them a chance, but only Sakura and Naruto. If anyone else was around, he clammed up, and became the perfect Uchiha. Then again, he wasn't much different when they were alone. The difference was the chance to get him to relax, to banter a bit back and forth, offer opinions and debate the topic at hand.

They continued training and the low rank missions. Kakashi gave a bit more input, but seemed content to watch over the progress they were making. Sasuke gave Sakura and Naruto access to the Uchiha compound which brought a wealth of information. With Sakura organizing their training schedules, Sasuke driving the pace, and Naruto's general enthusiasm and random crazy act, the trio were happy the way life was.

Then Kakashi gave them permission forms for the Chunnin Exams. Sasuke jumped at the chance. Sakura tried debating with him that they weren't ready, and even if they passed, there was no need to rush a promotion. Sasuke refused and when Naruto who remained silent through the entire debate, said he'd follow Saskue into the exam, Sakura threw her hands into the air and conceded.

If Sasuke left Team 7, they would never get their friend back. Sasuke accepted them now. They trained together even more and then they managed to have fun. The first time Sasuke smile in Wave, Sakura's heart leapt in her chest.

That was Harry's smile. The quiet, unconscious grin that could never be made with fake emotions. She had to hit Naruto for calling Sasuke on it, but when she was done, the grin was gone once more.

She kept count of them since. Four times, the Uchiha smiled true. Finding out he was Harry was surprising. Before the mission to Wave, Sasuke felt familiar, but she never would have guessed the truth. Now it seemed obvious.

This was Harry – if he didn't have friends.

She couldn't help feeling guilty for not being there. How long had he suffered alone? Harry always took too much on himself, but between Ron and herself, they never let him stand alone.

Sasuke took everything the world sent at him, and continued on. He didn't se how much damage it caused him, how little he had left to keep going.

Sakura did. Even Naruto could see it. The Uchiha wouldn't last long enough to kill his brother. Not alone.

So Team 7 could not be broken. Sakura feared passing this test far more than failing. But Sasuke was counting on her; just like Hogwarts sixth year. Sasuke didn't see reason, just the shortest route to his goal. All she and Naruto could do is follow and keep him safe.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino dashed across the room, heading straight for Sasuke. The hug intended for the Uchiha wrapped around Naruto when he quietly stepped in front of his teammate.

"Why Ino, I didn't know you felt that way!" Naruto's smile stretched across his face. Ino pulled back enough to confirm the prankster's voice to his face and froze in horror.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru strode up behind the blonde kunoichi with Chouji at his side. The Akamichi was eating a bag of chips, but anyone could see the laughter in his eyes.

"Good one, idiot." Kiba Inuzuka stepped out of the crowd of chunin hopefuls. "When did you learn to pick up chicks?"

Naruto shrugged shamelessly, breaking Ino out of her trance. "Stupid!" The kunoichi slammed her fist into Naruto's head, knocking him flat. Shivering in disgust, she brushed herself off and stomped over to her teammates.

Sasuke prodded Naruto with his foot. Naruto shoved it away, and rolled into a sitting position before staggering up. Kiba was doubled over in laughter as his two teammated stood nearby in silence. Hinata was beet red while Shino glanced away, probably hoping no one would connect him with the dog boy.

"You so owe me a bowl of ramen," the blond grumbled. Sasuke grunted. It was hard to tell if it meant "fine" or "as if."

"You rookies should quiet down if you know what's good for you." The new voice caught all the genin's attention. A young man with long silver hair pulled back in a long ponytail watched the group with a friendly face.

"Who are you?" Kiba demanded.

The stranger pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose, bringing attention to his forehead protector. "Just a fellow leaf ninja looking out for my younger comrades."

Kiba growled at the implied insult, meaning to stepping forward when Shino cut him off by stepping between the two.

"Have you taken the test before?" Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

"Of course. And let me warn you – you see those guys behind you?" A quick glance confirmed a trio of mean looking genin. "They're from the hidden village of Mist."

Team 7 rebuffs Kabuto's attempts to be kind and the first test starts. They pass.

**NEW MATERIAL OUTLINE**

In the forest of death, Team 7 is attacked by Orochimaru in disguise. It ends with Team 10 interfering just as Sasuke collapse from chakra exhaustion combined with the cursed seal 'bite'.

Sakura and Naruto find the group of four after their 'encounter' with Gaara. They make it to the tower and get help because Naruto swiped the earth scroll that Gaara left behind after killing the Rain genin. With the extra days the curse seal was sealed off before the prelims.

The prelims went well, except Sakura was able to completely dominate the fight with Ino. The blonde didn't have more time than to be surprised before she was knock out by the Team 7 kunoichi. When match ups occurred, Sakura was teamed up with Dozu.

When Kakashi tried to give Naruto to Ebisu and Sakura to Kurenai, Team 7 put their foot down. Instead of completely individual training, the three met up throughout the month for team training. Unknown to their teachers, the three slept at the Uchiha compound to discuss their training and find ways to improve. Naruto was kept from training all night, Sasuke was kept from obsessing about power and Sakura got to practice her new genjutsu skills on the boys.

A week after the prelims, Dozu attempted to kill Sakura. His initial hit had her down for the count until the Naruto showed up on his way to Sasuke's place. He made enough noise and clones to attract the attention of ANBU. Dozu kept muttering about pleasing Orochimaru and was about to be taken in to see Ibiki when a senbon struck him in the one eye that remained uncovered, killing him instantly.

The village was wary but did not expect the chaos that came from the Chunin Finals.

Naruto's new skill with summoning was the only way team 7 managed to beat Gaara. Naruto's relentless drive to protect Konoha and Sasuke's unwavering determination to keep his teammates from harm at the cost of his own arm being crush changed the Sand demon carrier.

--

The village was hurt badly by the attack from Sound and Sand. The Third's death only added to the general grief.

But there was one group that found this to be an advantage. Danzo took the initiative that was left over from Jaraiya's refusal to be the next Hokage. The other two counselors believed Jaraiya would get Tsunade to accept the position and she would be easily led. Danzo believed that if Tsunade did accept, which was a long shot, she would be just as stubbornly foolish as the old man.

Jaraiya asked for permission to take Naruto, but when the blonde refused to part from his teammates, the sannin took all three genin, freeing Kakashi to take more missions. By the time the team returned, with Tsunade in tow, Danzo had already taken steps to have more power.

Tsunade found the village counsel with far more power than she recalled. As Hokage, she only had purview over the military matters. She was able to control the village itself a little due to enforcement handled by her ninjas, but all rules or laws were governed by the village counsel.

Naruto found it far more difficult to survive. The landlord kicked him out without the Third's influence, and Danzo noticed when the Kyuubi carrier started living with the last Uchiha.

The civilians in the village started shunning Naruto more. Stores refused to allow him to pay, even with outrageous prices. Sakura started doing his essential shopping until the villagers realized she was providing the 'demon' with food. When the kunoichi started receiving the same treatment, she went to the Hokage.

Tsunade found that she could not order the villagers to do anything. As long as they stayed within the bounds of the law, she had no power over their actions. The businesses had the right to refuse service to anyone they felt the need to do so. Pointing out there was no reason to refuse service to Sakura did not dissuade the villagers. Tsunade didn't even try to use the same logic in reference to Naruto.

While negotiations failed, Sasuke did any errands that the team needed in the village, scowling the entire time. He couldn't say no to helping his friends, but resented the time it took from training and did not appreciate that Konoha did nothing to help the situation. The villagers still bent backwards for the last Uchiha and they learned not to put down his teammates within his presence. He still caught remarks of "Such a good young man, putting up with those two all the time." and "See how well he carries the burden?" or "Who else would be able to live like that with such grace?"

They continued to go on, becoming more discouraged when a ROOT member made contact with Sasuke on his way home from errands in the village. The Uchiha kept his mask during the quiet discussion and ended the conversation with a neutral stance. When Naruto and Sakura heard about the offer for all these problems to 'go away' there was screaming and gnashing of teeth – and a few walls destroyed by Sakura. The implication that the group (whoever they were) had caused the situation was not lost on Sasuke. There was also a clear warning of what would happen if he happened to let others know of the 'generous' offer of exclusive training to hunt down his older brother.

His teammates were fine, but he wasn't going to chance going to the Hokage or Kakashi, who still had a mainly hands off approach to his students. The trio planned to wait and see, they didn't know who this new player was and weren't about to welcome them with open arms.

--

There were a few more offers, which Sasuke continued to ignore for the most part. When question on the fourth meeting he implied that he didn't take gifts from strangers. Danzo then made an approach when Team 7 was in the Hokage tower a few days later. He only greeted Sasuke, but used a word that left no doubt in the Uchiha's mind that the old man was behind the offers.

Sakura learned all she could about the man and it wasn't pretty. Her mother was also avoiding her as much as possible, due to the woman's lack of understanding her daughter's ninja career and the fallout from the villagers. Naruto still walked through the village without a care, but it hurt more when the villagers started to turn their backs on him rather than curse and spit at him. The ramen shop, Team 7, and the few times the rookies got together were the only times he felt he belonged.

Sasuke was tired of the entire situation. When Orochimaru's lackey's came by with another alternative he just about had enough. He started to rant, in true Harry fashion as soon as he was alone with Naruto and Sakura at the Uchiha estates, ending with the comment 'Why can't we just leave this village, take what we need for the evil snake lord and then be done with all the stupid ninja in this world?'

Sakura took the crazy idea and made it work. Naruto felt a bad about leaving the village, but the other two convinced him to go along. After all, they weren't abandoning the village, just taking an extended vacation. Sakura found a loop hole in village law and Naruto managed to get Tsunade's signature on a release document for all three genin that lasted ten years. Sasuke made sure all the supplies were ready and kept Danzo's men from suspecting a thing.

When the Sound four approached him again, he said yes – if the other two came with.

--

The Sound four didn't care, and Team 7 left, with no one being the wiser for three days when Kakashi finally tried to find his missing team. He waited a few days after returning from his latest mission before hunting them down for a progress check and found a packet Sakura made up with a copy of their release.

Tsunade was shocked when Kakashi brought it to her, but remembered exactly when it happened and promptly sent out a team of ANBU to find them. Team 7 was long gone.

The delay in getting Sasuke's teammates meant Orochimaru already changed host bodies and they had three years before he could try again. Sakura was a welcomed apprentice to Kabuto and she learned all she could and refused to rise to his bait when he tried to disturb her with cruel medical practices. Naruto was ignored by the Sound leaders as Orochimaru expected Akatsuki to come knocking soon and he'd gladly hand over the kyuubi – for a price. Instead, Naruto rubbed the Sound four wrong and ended up getting in fights that continually improved his skills. With Sasuke learning from Orochimaru and Kabuto, the three had a well rounded education. One of the conditions of their 'defection' was room and board together and every night the three compared notes. They woke early to get extra team training and Sakura made sure they kept up their academics, much to the boy's dismay.

Konoha didn't know what happened to Team 7, but life went on. Kakashi took it as a personal affront and started to train seriously, always looking for his team on missions outside of the village. Tsunade didn't make as big a change, but used the anger to start a crusade against the council. She pulled the shinobi from patrolling the village. If the villagers wanted nothing to do with ninja rule, the ninjas would have nothing to do with running the village. Chaos reigned until the counsel grudgingly let her have a say in the village. A compromise, but one she could build off of.

The rookies started learning just what had been going on with Team 7 as Sakura and Naruto had kept quiet about their treatment from the village. Enraged with the reason they blamed on the trio leaving, the rookies started their own war against the village. They pulled in the clans over time, even the Hyuuga branch members. Villagers started to see a decline in shinobi buying from their shops as several retired ninjas started their own stores to provide the needs of the ninjas helping the protest. Akamichi, the biggest contributors to village restaurants, made the sacrifice of not eating anywhere but their own places and Ichiraku's found a need for a larger location as the hearty clan increased their patronage.

--

When the three years were approaching their end, Sakura was reading in Orochimaru's private library. Not that she was allowed, but she had learned a lot in the last three years and knew how to get around the snake sennin's security. He was a twisted person, but brilliant and she continually found knowledge she could use. That day, she found a scroll that described the legend of Kusanagi – the sword he would draw from his throat. Curious about how he stored and used it – and why it would never dull or rust – Sakura searched for more information. A paper of Orochimaru's direct study of the sword revealed it had its own 'spirit'. A spirit that went by the name Voldemort.

The trio was reminded once again that they were in a world they had never heard of during their Hogwarts time and never questioned how it was they were here. Sakura researched, Sasuke brooded, and Naruto threw out wild ideas that would spark thoughts in his teammates.

Eventually Sakura determined that they weren't in a different world. Orochimaru had an entire library on ancient artifacts and writing. There was nothing out right said, but much of the information ran parallel to her own knowledge from her Hogwarts days. Not the knowledge about magic and wizards, but the muggle school knowledge she kept up with despite being in the magic world three fourths of the year. Many of Orochimaru's experiments on the technology that he used on his sound ninjas were based of muggle science literature. There was even an actual textbook, badly preserved, about sound waves and the power and use that could come from them.

No, they were not in another world, but the future. One where life as they knew it ceased to exist. Something terrible happened that threw the world into the dark ages. The land masses they had been familiar with were transformed into what they are now. Sakura speculated that wizards and muggles had to learn to work together to survive. Maybe it had something to do with the tailed beasts called demons, and the various mutations that are now known as bloodlines.

Either way, they were in the future, and Kusanagi was the same sword they had bound Voldemort's soul into just before the died the first time. Now she had learned that Orochimaru also owned a diamond studded tiara that also housed a soul that claimed to be called Voldemort. The snake sannin took many notes as he compared the two artifacts and learned that the souls were pieces of a whole that would make Voldemort. He came up with the idea that a ninja long ago sought immortality placing part of his soul into various objects. The limited communication he had with the housed souls lead him to believe that there were at least three more pieces (locket, cup, and snake – Dumbledore took care of the ring, and Harry died, taking care of that piece of horcrux).

Sasuke was enraged. He kept in mind his brother, but that could wait. He wanted Voldemort dead.

The trio found out where the tiara was kept – Naruto was surprisingly friendly with the village of Sound and learned a lot of information when talking to the villagers and other ninjas. He was even on good terms with the Sound four, even if they swore at each other every time they saw one another. With Naruto's info, the trio snuck into the sealed storehouse and destroyed the tiara. Naruto tried a Rasengan, which started to work before dark energy seeped through the chakra wind storm in the blond's hand and back into Naruto's chakra coils. The screaming was going to attract all the guards in the area, so Sasuke fired up a chidori and cut through the piece with easy. The darkness attached itself to Sasuke, leaving Naruto to collapse on the floor and Sasuke to struggle with this violent energy that seemed to speak in his mind. He fed it towards the curse seal where he already had mental barriers to keep out Orochimaru's influence the sannin pushed through the 'gift'. When the dark energy collided with the curse seal – the curse seal ate the dark energy, and no more problem; except getting away.

Orochimaru was furious, but didn't suspect the trio who were acting as if nothing had happened. Naruto always bounced back quickly and Sasuke could mask the lingering weariness.

But time was running out and the three began to make plans to leave the Sound village before Orochimaru tried to take over Sasuke's body. Sasuke thought he'd be able to resist whatever Orochimaru threw at him, but the other two were unwilling to take the risk. Besides, they still needed to make a plan to get Kusanagi.

--

When Naruto heard the news that Gaara, who became Kazekage two years ago, was taken by the Akatsuki, he pushed to leave now. Gaara was a decent guy, and no one deserved to die for a demon sealed in them as a baby. His teammates agreed, as long as Naruto didn't go and do something stupid.

They left within the hour, and pushed towards Sand where Naruto hoped to get information on where Gaara was taken. They ran into Kakashi, Azuma with Ino, Shikamaru, Shino and Gai's team who accompanied Temari and a little old woman that snapped at anyone she could. Kakashi refused to let them go on their own way and Shikamaru's shadow kept them in place for long enough everyone could surround them.

Once Team 7 learned that they were going to rescue Gaara after Ino (who an apprentice to Shizune) and Shino had helped cure Kakuro from poison, Naruto stopped protesting. Sighing, Sakura gave in before Sasuke rolled his eyes and silently conceded. Ino tried to glomp the Uchiha as soon as it was clear they would not be fighting. Sasuke dodged the attack with ease, despite still being tied to Shikamaru's shadow. The other two easily broke free, proving they had never been serious about fighting their former comrades.

They ignore questions on where the three had been the last three years and continued on to the Akatuski's hiding spot.

Sasuke meets up with his brother once more since Team 7's trip to get Tsunade. Sasuke had startled Itachi by being able to ignore the Tsukyomi the first time. This time he surprised his older brother by not caring if he won or lost, just if the rest of the team could get by. He was able to hold his brother at bay, and Kakashi took on Kisami while the rest moved on. Team 10 stayed as a backup.

They rescue Gaara, Sakura proving a match for Sasori with only help needed from the old lady on how puppets work and what their weakness was. The old lady still had to sacrifice her life to bring Gaara back, but the news that Naruto was back helped Gaara immensely.

Team 7 returned to Konoha and stood silent when Tsunade ranted, even as Naruto dodged the occasional fist she flung at him, until she gathered him up in a big bear hug. He patted her back awkwardly until she decked him while he was caught. They were on probation, but they didn't mind. The villagers were not happy to see the demon back in their village, but did not resume their campaign. They didn't have a chance as the rookies introduced them to all the new business that had sprung up to service other ninjas.

Team 7 were promoted to chuunin for their past performance in the Chuunin Exam whose results had been delayed due to the change in Hokage, and for their display of skill in the field. Sakura's defeat of Sasori, Naruto's defeat of the clay guy and Sasuke's defeat of the faux Itachi were well known. The villagers started to treat the trio with a bit more respect when the word started to spread. Sasuke, of course, was idiolized even more.

--

Life was better until Danzo started meddling again.

He managed to place Sai on the four man squad that Sasuke now led as a chuunin, and the four did missions with a jounin as shadow due to the high risk targets the three original members of team 7 now made. The creepy guy that could control wood didn't bother them that often, however.

Eventually, they are able to take down Danzo, and fight off Akatsuki after Sasuke kills Orochimaru when he comes for the Uchiha's body. They trick Orochimaru into using the sword in battle and Sasuke absorbs that piece of Voldemort's soul into the curse seal, as well as the one that Manda has when they discover the interesting fact when snake, toad, and snail boss are all summand during battle. This make Sasuke the technical boss of snakes and between that fact and his parseltogue ability that he still retains, Sasuke never has a problem with the usually reluctant snake summons.

Itachi's past comes out when they meet for the second time after Gaara's rescue three years before. Akatsuki is down to just five members – Kisame having been defeated by Sakura in their first encounter after Gaara and Itachi's second partner of Hidan being killed by Naruto. Sasuke does not want to have anything to do with Konoha after learning how they betrayed his family. Itachi's approval of their actions only makes him lash out at his brother. Sakura finds the plant guy listening to their conversation and the four ninja team up to defeat him.

After the battle, Sasuke refuses to return to the 'corrupt village' built on other people's pain. Naruto swears that he won't stand for that when he his Hokage. Sasuke fights with him because he doesn't think Naruto will ever be Hokage. When a bet is placed during their heated argument, Sakura breaks the tension by reminding him that Naruto also seems to win at gambling. Itachi actually smiles at the team before telling him that he has to leave and report his two comrades deaths. Sasuke tells him that if Sasuke has to return to that village, then Itachi has to as well. Itachi explains his spying roll for Jiraiya and the three split from the older brother after he promises not to die before he has to live in the village again.

Then Jiraiya dies in a battle with Pain. Itachi defects from Akatsuki and Team 7 is forced to defend him from the various ninja that want to kill the biggest traitor to Konoha since Orochimaru. Tsunade arrives and puts a stop to it when she hears the story. Many ninja, watching the entire episode, argue that she's being influenced by the demon, but cold words put them back into place.

The two living councilors from the Third's time give testimony to the verify Itachi's story and many ninja are left humbled after Naruto gives a surprisingly stirring talk.

--

Life goes on. Pain is eventually defeated by Naruto and the epilogue shows the three in the Hokage's office, reminiscing over how much has happened in the last two years. They are twenty and can't believe how far they've come. They are still chasing rumors for the last piece of Voldemort's soul (they found the cup) but Sasuke has his family back. Who would have thought Itachi and Anko would marry and have kids so quickly, one toddling around the house and a second on the way. Anko as a mother, Naruto still shivers at the thought.

They smile and share a quiet laugh before Sakura asks if Naruto is ready. She gives a nervous grin, and thinks he is. Sasuke slaps him on the back and moves past him to the door, swirling a white ANBU cape around his shoulders and replacing his blood red mask – he refuses to wear white, the color that Death Eaters wore.

Sakura shakes her head and grabs a stack of scrolls of the Hokage's desk, signed authorization forms she needs to run the main ninja hospital of Konoha. Her director position keeps her busy, but she's done fighting, unless Team 7 goes out together.

Naruto watches his best friends leave before taking a deep breath and grabbing the large hat off the desk. He walks out of the room while placing it on his head. He refused to wear the matching robes. He takes one more glance at the room, lingering on the picture of the Fourth. There's no sadness, despite knowing that the man was the father he never knew in this life.

He grins, a true Naruto grins and whispers to the room as he walks out, towards the crowd that waits to hear from Tsunade the announcement of her successor.

"I told you I'd be Hokage one day."

END

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

The New Material Outline is full of grammar mistakes, spelling errors and missing terms as I didn't bother to look anything up. Hopefully it gives you enough closure to say goodbye as I am doing.

Number one reason why I'm not going to be writing the actual story of Reclaiming Life: I'm getting married. Yes, I know it probably seems a stupid reason to many, but I fanfiction has always and will always be a hobby to me. A hobby I don't have time for anymore. Someone recently posted a review that stated something along the lines of 'another abandoned story' and it hit me just how long it had been since I updated.

So the truth hurts, but yes, I had abandoned Reclaiming Life. Real life (school, meeting my now fiancé, getting engaged, preparing to move, wedding planning, work) along with my original stories I hope to publish someday are far more important to me.

Reclaiming Life has its own special place in my heart, and I always look at it fondly, but it deserves time and dedication that I cannot give. So I'll say farewell to it. I might still dabble in fanfiction, but not anytime soon, and likely never an epic story this was meant to be.

Kudos to anyone that picks up the bare bones put forth here and manages to flesh it out into the being it's was destined to be.

Some notes on the story, I really didn't like writing the mini-break down Sasuke had in Wave. The one posted here is the sixth version of it, and the biggest hang up in my writing. I'm a linear writer. I can make notes, know the direction I want to take the story, but I have to write the scenes in sequential order. I'm still not happy with Sasuke's break down, would have re-written the scene again before even giving it to Essex if I was continuing the story.

I thank Peppymint who gave a review, despairing over the fact that Sasuke received the curse mark, but grateful that at least Harry/Sasuke would never abandon the village. My immediate thought was "Why not?" Then I had to think of how it could be possible, and came up with that wonderful little plot twist. All credit goes to Peppymint. One of the big reasons why I had to start back from the beginning because I needed a Sasuke I could work with, and my original Harry/Sasuke just wasn't quite right. Neither was Ron/Naruto for that matter.

Poor Sakura has been neglected, but she's the hardest to write. Then again, I did have fun twisting her old Hermoine mind into Inner Sakura.

There are a lot of sceens later, when the timelines seriously divulge from the original Naruto-verse that I was looking forward to. I'll be interested in reading if anyone takes up the challenge of trying them out. Everyone thinks differently, so hopefully you readers had fun filling in the many details that were left out. Like how they managed to get rid of Danzo. I was waiting to think up that one. I just know that they do it and before they defeat Orochimaru.

The battle with Orochimaru was going to be awesome. Especially with Manda's secret of originally being Nagini come out during the battle itself. I wanted so much to write that one of all of them. The first two reunions of Sasuke with Itachi were just as high on my 'want-to-write' list. Can you just picture Itachi in Sasuke's mind, blood red moon shining down on them, and Sasuke being able to control the world just as much as Itachi? Or how Sasuke might be indifferent about Itachi in comparison to getting to Gaara for Naruto and too busy thinking about Voldemort to really care if Itachi died right now or later in life?

Thanks once again for everyone who kept waiting. Hope you find another story that tickles your interest – or better yet, try making your own.


End file.
